Into a Dream
by Dreamwalker44
Summary: Yuya Sakaki had always been a troubled teen. Every night he would dream about a man with a mask out to get his life. But what happens if dreams turned into reality? Who would save the boy from the darkness of his dreams? Counterpartshipping and a whole lot of fantasy.
1. The Encounter

_**Into a Dream**_ **Chapter 1 :** _ **The Encounter**_

* * *

Droplets of rain had fallen down from the sky. It was noon and the sun hadn't shown itself all day. Strangely, Maiami City had been quite affected by this weather; it was raining the whole week and this resulted to some light flooding. Classes were suspended for the day to avoid some accidents and the students decided to spend the day at home, enjoying their time away from school.

"Yuya-kun, what's the matter? You seem really down lately." says a fairly tall woman with blonde hair and green eyes. She was doing the dishes when she noticed her son by the kitchen looking quite blue. It appears that the boy was quite silent that day which was very unlike him, given that he's known to be fun-loving and energetic. The woman wouldn't be surprised by this though, she knew there was always something troubling the boy, after all, her husband had been somewhat the cause of this. "Don't tell me you've failed your exams again."

"W-what?! No I haven't. You know I've been studying for months now, mom. I practically aced some of them last week."

"Then why are you so depressed lately?"

"It's nothing, I just feel kinda...you know..."

"Depressed?"

"No. It's not that, mom...I just...uh... haven't been sleeping properly. I keep waking up to nightmares lately, and it was pretty bad this morning." Recalling some parts of the frightening dream, his eyes that bore a crimson red had chosen to look away from his mother. For some reason, he remembered the events clearly in his head. Images of his own blood staining the floor, a knife peircing his hands and legs. He shut his eyes as if feeling the pain and grabbed a part of the orange shirt he was wearing. He did _not_ want to remember this now.

"Yuya, it's not about that man again, is it?" She was facing him now, the look of worry in her eyes. This man had always appeared in her son's dreams, at a young age he would toss and turn in his sleep, crying out loud as he thought he would be stabbed to death by the man chasing after him. Besides having a tall masked figure, Yoko Sakaki knew nothing more about this man that had terrified her son so greatly. She could only comfort him when he awoke, startled and teary-eyed.

"..."

"Yuya?"

"It's fine mom, you don't have to worry about it now. I'll tell you when it gets troublesome. For now I'll head off to Yuzu's, okay?" With that, the boy named Yuya went off. He didn't like it when his mother looked at him like that. He'd always keep a happy, smiling face around her to tell her he was fine. But right now, he couldn't do that, not after that nightmare.

Upon entering the outside world, a few rain drops had fallen on his green and crimson colored hair. It didn't really bother him since he loved it when it rained; it actually calmed him down most of the time. To avoid further moisture on him, he grabbed a bright yellow umbrella by the door. The handle was a bit wet making it somehow uncomfortable when he held on to it. He decided to ignore that feeling. After all, there were other matters to think of right now, things such their school outing.

In a couple of weeks, his school would be having a little three day trip in a beach resort. Most of his classmates were going since it was their last year in high school. Everyone just wanted to have fun and spend the three days with their friends. But Sakaki Yuya on the other hand didn't really plan on going. He just wasn't interested on being coped up with the same people who pick on him. Despite his happy nature, everyone either avoids him or bullies him. It's been going on since kindergarten and with the amount of name-callings and beatings, no one would really mind if he decided to not join.

The only thing that's keeping him from declining was Yuzu, his childhood friend. Ever since they were children, she had always stood up for Yuya. Like a sister, she cared deeply for him, and was always there to comfort him. Her strong and caring personality had always helped him cope with his problems, especially at school. When he found out how eager she was for the trip, he was having trouble deciding if he would go or not. He didn't want to disappoint Yuzu, so joining was probably a good idea. It was just for a couple of days, and if Yuzu was happy, it was alright with him. What harm could it be if everyone was just gonna have fun? It was just for three days, after all.

* * *

Without realizing it, Yuya had walked to the park. He had planned on going to Yuzu's and talk about their plans for the outing but it seemed too early for that. So now he let his mind wander about random things, he wanted to forget about the nightmare he had, about that man with the mask that had always managed to frighten him.

Because of all the rain, the park smelled of wet grass. Yuya found this earthen smell quite relaxing and decided to sit on a swing in the nearby playground. It was still raining so there were only a few people here and there, passing by most of the time. This was a good chance to just doze off and think about nothing in particular. There were only a few times where he could truly be alone, right now he was enjoying his own company, and it seemed to help him relieve some stress.

With the umbrella still on hand, Yuya eyed the flowers by the swing set. Its blossoms may have closed itself for the coming night but there were some still a bit open, showing its beauty to the world. He noticed how the raindrops would fall on petals of hydrangeas and chrysanthemums, their assorted colors of yellows and purples have been a nice thing to look at, similar to what his mother would water in their own garden. Everything was just so peaceful, a moment in life Yuya wasn't used to.

Sure, he loves to entertain people, making them happy is what he'd choose to live for, but the way his classmates mistreat him would clearly affect that dream of his. What good would it bring if nobody was interested in his efforts? Wouldn't he be better off listening to them for once and accept the role of a nobody? Things would be easier that way, wouldn't it?

 _'Wouldn't it?'_ He thought. Surely the thought had always left him to contemplate very hard. A simple 'yes' or 'no' may not be enough to answer it. It as always confusing, what he felt was always confusing, it was all just messy ever since that day that day it all started.

 _'No'_ he thought to himself. He mustn't think about it, not anymore. It was all in the past.

 _'What am I thinking?'_ What _was_ he thinking? What could have possibly change if he gave up? Things would never turn in his favor even if he decided to let everything the way they want it. So now, he was suck there, at a point he could not yet conclude. He pushed himself on the swing with his legs and swung back and forth a few times. The action had made him remember that time as a child when a bully pushed him so high, he flew to the ground with a loud 'thud'. Scratches with a shade of red could be seen all over his body that day, a bruise on his right knee as well. He had told his mother that he tripped on a flight of stairs and ended up pretty much beaten up because of it. His mother of course didn't think he was _that_ stupid, then called the teacher as well as the principal about what really happened, and as expected, led to nowhere. Yuzu was out sick that day and when she had found out what happened to Yuya, she never left the boy's side.

Speaking of Yuzu, no one seemed to treat her like what they treat him. In fact it was kinda the opposite. Being the class representative might had something to do with it; but of course there was this certain tension whenever the boys ended up wanting to fight back when she smacked them with her paper fan. He had learned to keep Yuzu from fighting back just to be safe (on the boys' part, that is). Unlike other girls in their class, she pretty much had a tomboy personality that gave her enough will power and strength to scare off some bullies. She was a hero to the eyes of the weak (more of like a heroine), a revolutionary stronghold, and a deity of righteousness. Because of this, everyone admired her. Of course Yuya had always looked up to the pink haired girl. She was like a sister that he respected a lot, a person more like family to him and his mother than a friend.

He stood up from the swing, breathing in the smell of the wet earth as he closed his eyes. By now, the street lights slowly lit up around the park. It was about 5:30 pm and the rain had stopped its pouring. The ground bore puddles of water shining in the light of the lamps making the park shine brightly in the city. Not a sound could be heard but the screeching of cicadas among the trees. The sun was setting by then, revealing the deep blue and orange color of the sky, it was decorated with clouds stretched here and there bearing the color of light pinks and purples. There was nobody there but the boy with crimson eyes. He silently watched the beautiful scene before him as if in a trans, only to be awaken with a gush of soft wind that blew apart his fringes.

 _'Time to go.'_ he thought to himself. His mother might need help cooking dinner so he better be going home. But as he stood for a while to admire the park once more, something strange had appeared before him. Upon seeing this being, fear quickly froze him to the ground. The creature stood at least five meters away from him, standing by the other side of the road. It was a tall, dark figure probably six feet tall. And what terrified Yuya the most was the mask it was wearing, it was the same mask in his dreams.

 _'No, no, no, no, no, no.'_ He had to deny it, it wasn't possible.

'This _can't be happening, it can't be.'_

He stood there frozen with utmost fear, shaking his small, frail body as his heart beat with increasing speed. There was no doubt that this 'man' was the star of his nightmares. This thing that silently chased him and tortured him every time he slept was right there on the other side. And then it started to move, raising what looked like its arm, it waved it to the boy who was lost in fear. It kept waving its hand. Waving and waving, left to right, left to right, revealing a long pale arm with sharp nails. Soon it stopped waving and started to go near the boy.

Instead of walking towards Yuya, it had positioned itself on all fours as if like a dog. Then it started crawling. Slowly, its dark clothing had slipped away from its body as it got nearer and nearer, showing a pale figure, bony and disfigured. Its spine had curved wrongly in its back and its legs were bent like a goat's. The creature had very little skin to cover fat, showing its bones very clearly. What remained in its being was the mask. It was wearing a white one, triangularly shaped with a permanent smile. The holes for the eyes were two identical circles with dark rims on it, adding to the twisted appearance of the creature. When it was an arm's reach from the boy, it stopped crawling but never stood.

Yuya watched this creature as it got closer him. His body was refusing to listen to his mind's screams and shouts of running away. It was too late now. The creature who stared back at him with its pitch black eyes was now closer to grabbing his body, free to do as it pleased. Right now, running was useless. Was he ready to die? Is that what's happening? His head was full of incoherent thoughts before it went all blank. As he and the creature continued their staring, he slowly closed his eyes shut, ready for the creature to strike him. It was all over now. Not once in his dreams did he escape from the creature. What difference would it make now that it appeared before him in the real world?

Noticing the boy's action, the creature let out a big smile. Its grin, near ear to ear, showing pass its mask. It then let out a laugh. High pitched like a clown's. Then, for the first time, it spoke to the boy.

"Oh...oh...y-y-yuuuu-u-y-y-y-yaaaaa-aaa...ah...ah...AH!" The creature said as it slightly tilted its head to the right. Yuya just continued to close his eyes, not wanting to see what the creature would do to him. He kept blaming himself for not running away, kept blaming himself for not doing anything right. At that moment it felt like his life was flashing before his eyes, like he was about to die. It was his time, and he knew it. To his mother, and Yuzu, he said sorry and goodbye. He wasn't going to make it home to his mother, and he wasn't going to be able to join the trip with Yuzu. It was all over for him, this creature that bore nothing but blood-lust was going to kill him.

With its long arm, it reached out to touch Yuya's cheek, feeling his soft porcelain-like face with its rough cold hand. Saliva was dripping down from its mask indicating how 'hungry' it was for the boy. Soon it neared its face to Yuya's, letting out a loud sniff, gaining the boy's sweet scent. But before it got to do anything else, there was a loud crunching sound of bones and the creature was confused as it was now looking upside down. Yuya snapped his eyes open, also confused for he thought that it was the sound of his limbs being torn apart. He felt no pain.

"Gaaahhhhh!"

The realization came to him when he saw the creature's head no longer upright. His eyes opened wide, looking at the now dislocated head. The creature took a step back, screaming while grabbing Yuya's hand to make sure he won't run away. This action caused Yuya to let out a small yelp, the grasp tight on his wrist. When the creature was screaming from the pain (but was not dying from it), he noticed that there was someone standing behind it.

The person was a guy probably a head taller that him. His raven and lavender colored hair swept to the right and pointed upward, making him appear taller. He was also wearing a mask but was black in color that only concealed the nose and mouth. To cover his eyes, he wore military-like goggles with sharp pointed studs around the rim. Yuya looked at him with uncertainty, not sure if he came to kill the creature next to him and save his life.

"Unhand him. _Now_." Said the stranger. His baritone voice radiated with anger, clearly pissed off at something. He had moved closer to the creature as it tightened its grasp onto the boy, and understood that it was not planning on cooperating.

"Y-y-you're never gonna get him~! He will and always will be mine, boy!" With that, the creature licked the crook of Yuya's neck. The way its dislocated head leaned closer to the boy made the stranger tighten his fists. Its long tongue slipped under the mask, coating the boy with its disgusting saliva.

Before the boy could protest, there was a strong gush of wind and the licking stopped. Nearly all the street lights were shattered from the action and the moon now served as their only light. What he saw before him was the creature now headless, falling lifelessly to the moist ground, it loosened its grip on his wrist and he felt no more pain. The stranger, standing in front of him, held the creature's decapitated head, its mask was still on with its tongue sticking out. The raven haired was watching the boy, not moving from where he stood. As blood dripped from both the creature's body and head, the color of red mixed with the clear water of the puddles. He had made sure to make a clean cut, not wanting to spill blood onto the boy's face. All were silent in the light of the moon. And with the scene still processing in his mind, Yuya slowly felt his legs giving out, his body fell onto the ground in weakness. The only two beings in the park neither spoke nor made a sound for they stared at each others' eyes. One was looking at crimson red, the other at steel gray ones.

Yuya was shaking, still very weak from the near-death experience. By now, he was starting to feel a growing fear towards the stranger. Perhaps he was next to be killed for being a witness. Without realizing it, tears had formed from the corners of his eyes. They were the tears he could not shed all this time, the times of his loneliness and prejudice. His emotions were all mixed together into a ball of sadness and as the tears continued to flow from his crimson eyes, he let out a cry, the stranger being the only audience to this all.

No longer looking at the raven haired boy, he wiped the tears that shown like crystals in the moonlight. Only his soft sniffles and hiccups could be heard from the dark, with this, his watcher slowly approached him.

"P-please... d-don't go near me" said Yuya with a broken voice. The stranger did not listen to his plead and continued to get closer to where he sat. When he was close enough, he kneeled and came face to face with the shaking boy. He let out his hand and touched the boy's flushed cheek, turning the boy's face side to side as if inspecting it.

"W-who are you?" New tears started to form on his eyes once again. He knew he was never gonna get out of this alive.

"…" There was no answer, just touching.

"W-will you kill me too?" Yuya finally asked in a whisper, fearing the other might hear him. He closed his eyes, anticipating his death to come. But the stranger, instead of responding, used his tumb to wipe off some tears on Yuya's cheek. He brought his face near the boy's ear and whispered back with a low voice.

"No, I won't." Is all he said. After that, Yuya's vision blurred, and everything went black.

Before his limp body could fall to the gound, he was caught by strong arms belonging to none other than the stranger with a mask. This person firmly held onto Yuya's waist as if hugging him into a strong embrace. "You're safe now, I promise you that." He said to the unconscious boy. His grip had tightened around Yuya, not wanting to let go.

"I promise, Yuya." Said the stranger as he lifted his dark, tattered cape to cover the two of them. Silently, without a trace, the two vanished into thin air. The park was empty now, and the creature's corpse was gone. In the sky, the moon was the only witness to the scene, floating amongst the darkness of the night.


	2. The Stranger

_**Into a Dream**_ **Chapter 2 : _The Stranger_** _ **  
**_

It was dark. When Yuya woke up, it was all still dark. Although quite dim, he was able to make out the details of his room. His desk by the bed, along with the homework he had planned to finish that night were all still visible with the small fraction of moon light from the window. He didn't know how or when he got home but one thing's for sure, the encounter with the monster was no dream.

He could still feel its death grip on his left wrist, a bit sore on how tightly it held him in place. He shivered at the memory of it licking his neck, its saliva that felt so cold on his skin made him cringe so much. Honestly, his life just keeps on getting harder to keep up with. The bulling was a bit more tolerable compared to finding out your worst nightmare exists now. He'd rather face Gen Ankokuji of all people if it were allowed. There was just no way he'd let himself experience that nightmare again.

But it didn't really matter now, did it. The monster was dead if he recalled correctly. He was safe for now and he was so thankful to be alive. On his bed, he stared at the darkened ceiling, trying to recall the events more clearly. There was something he wasn't remembering. _'Wasn't there someone else with me?'_ He thought, doing his best to remember.

And then it hit him.

"The guy with the cape." He said out loud. He almost forgot. How could he forget? After all, it was that person who saved him from the monster. Now he's nowhere in sight.

Getting up from his position, he began to look around the room, expecting to see the stranger somewhere in the corner. Perhaps it was that person who brought him home. But didn't that mean the stranger knew where he lived? Wasn't that creepy?

 _'No. That's not the point. You need to thank him. Apologize to him for thinking he's the bad guy._ ' He mentally scolded himself saying that it wasn't right for him to judge other people by their appearance. But what was he suppose to think if people like that guy just shows up killing a monster. For all he knows, maybe he was right all along. Maybe he was just lucky to escape from that monster, from that stranger.

 _'No, no. He saved you. From that thing, remember?'_

Or did he really save him? He wasn't sure. He could remember speaking to the stranger, but that was it. He blacked out after hearing a soft whisper from the guy, not really able to recall the reply properly, the guy's voice even.

What ever he said, perhaps it didn't matter now. Maybe it was just a one time thing. He didn't really have other nightmares besides the monster in the park. And now that it's dead, did that mean he was free from those horrible dreams? Or does this mean he was now more exposed to the creatures of the dark? Which ever it was, it was giving him a headache.

Letting out a sigh, Yuya decided to lay back on his bed. After all the stress and tension of the events that night, he wished to rest again. His alarm clock had told him it was already 3:15 am which means he still had at least four hours before classes start. With the rain still pouring, perhaps they'd get an early dismissal too, and if they're really lucky, a class suspension.

He let out a short yawn before pulling out the soft blue covers on his bed. And as his crimson eyes drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were about the mysterious person with the cloak, his mysterious savior.

Yuya felt he needed to see that guy again. He wanted to say how thankful he was and how he would gladly offer him his friendship. Well, he wasn't sure the stranger would agree but he had a strong feeling they'd meet again. Something about that guy just felt so familiar to him. He could remember how the stranger's steel gray eyes looked into his crimson ones.

He wasn't sure why but he saw pain in those eyes. He felt like he needed to do something about it. He always felt that way whenever he sees people unhappy. To fulfill his dream, he would entertain those people, he wouldn't stop until he brought them to smile and laugh, and that was exactly what he wanted for the stranger. He wanted to bring happiness in those eyes.

With that in mind, Yuya placed a tiny smile on his face before he drifted off to sleep. He'd decided to repay the stranger with a performance, something he hasn't done in a while. Well, that is if the stranger is a nice guy. He'd just have to bet he was right.

* * *

 _"What were you thinking?!"_ Said the voice on the other side of the phone. The person shouting was male and clearly wasn't happy. His only reply was an irritated sigh from his receiver who was also not in the mood for a call.

 _"The orders were given to me, Yuto! He told you to stay down and let me do the saving."_

"Look, I killed the monster, I saved Yuya. End of story. What are you complaining about?"

 _"What I'm complaining about is the fact that you disobeyed our orders. What's gotten into you? Are you trying to kill Yuya?"_

"You know as much as I do that I'd never want to do that."

 _"Then why did you steal my mission?"_

 _sigh._ "I don't have time for this."

 _"It's the dream isn't it?"_

"Yugo, it's not th-"

 _"Fucking shit. It is about the dream. You can't be serious, Yuto. We were specifically told not to-" CLICK!_ He ended the call. He had no time for this, and he didn't really want to hear Yugo complain about everything he did that night. He knows for a fact that the teen wanted to do the mission as much as he did but luckily for him, he beat the teen into doing so. Letting Yuya's life fall in the hands of Yugo was already a great risk. He knew how reckless his brother was and he couldn't let any danger happen to Yuya, not while the boy was still so fragile.

The boy named Yuto let out his last sigh before he put his cellphone back into his pocket. He was standing by the fence of a building's rooftop, still wearing the long dark cloak he used to escape. The wind was letting out a stong breeze, making his cloak dance about the air as it closely hung behind his back. The smell of rain had reached his senses, he was sure another shower would come about.

Yuto was watching Maiami City as it thrived in the night's domain. The city was truly beautiful at night he thought. Nearly all the buildings and skyscrapers flourished in well-defined lights and decor. This was the place he had wished to visit time to time but sadly, he never got the chance until now. He had a mission to accomplish here and he was determined to not let anything get in his way, there was just so many things at risk.

 _'Yuya...'_ He thought. The boy knew nothing of him yet he wanted so badly to get closer. He wanted to reach out to those hands that were overcomed by fear, to hold them with his own until the shaking stopped. He knew for a fact how reckless he was when he encountered the monster in the park. Yuya was so close in range that he might have hurt the boy in the process.

 _'No'_ he thought. He wasn't Yugo. His anger with the monster may have made him into a killing machine but he knew how to control himself. It was just really pissing him off how that disgusting thing was treating Yuya.

' _Tsk'_ he was thinking about him again. He really needed to stop that.

For some reason, whenever he thought about Yuya, he felt strange; like he was feeling this warmth radiating from the boy. He wasn't sure how but just the thought of him made him feel better. Seeing Yuya in distress has also made him feel different. He felt angry. He wanted to protect the boy and rid him of his troubles. Yuto was sure now that if a monster like the one in the park appeared again, he wouldn't hesitate to shed its blood.

He leaped towards the top of the fence, balancing himself with ease. As he stood there for a while, his gaze shifted to the bottom of the building. He had noticed something moving there, like it was searching for something. Although the alley was dark, Yuto could see this creature with the light of the moon. The thing had its back turned. It was short and had a hunched form. Sort of like an old beggar that wore a ragged cloak. But the cloak only reached half of its body, revealing its wringkly hind legs. With this, he was sure that what he was looking at was not human.

Yuto stood there for a moment. His goggles were brought on top of his head and he now discarded the mask he was wearing a while ago in the park. His face now could be seen, showing off a handsome face with eyes, sharp and grey, shining in the light of the moon. Like a lion stocking its prey, his gaze never shifted off from the old creature in the alley. He was waiting. Silently, his presence undetected.

The alley was full of unwanted belongings. Here, the creature searched box to box, frantically opening them and letting out the contents in a pile. As the last box was being searched, the creature suddenly stopped what it was doing. It sensed danger lurking about and began to look around to find its source.

And then, it looked up. It shouldn't have done that.

As it now faced the boy. Yuto saw it. He saw the mask it was wearing. "Found you." He said, letting out a smirk.

He instantly brought out a sword and leaped downward. The creature wasn't given the chance to run for the moment it stepped towards the exit, Yuto slashed his weapon and injured the creature's legs. It let out a shriek of pain similar to that of a rat's but before it got any louder, it was grabbed by the neck.

With one hand on his sword and the other on the creature's neck, Yuto began to near his weapon to the creature. _"W-wait, boy! You don't know what you're doing!"_ The creature squirmed, trying its best to talk. The mask it was wearing was giving it a hard time to breathe but of course removing it now would instantly kill him. It was not allowed in their kind to remove one's mask. _"I've got nothing to do with you Lancers!"_

"Oh? And who said I was a Lancer?" his sword was inches away from its neck, ready to pierce into the cold wringkly flesh. "Tell me, what were you doing here without authorizarion?"

 _"N-nothing! I was just looking for something to eat. I s-swear!"_

"Your lies won't be fooling me. Someone sent you here, didn't they?" There was no answer, just laughing.

 _"hehehehehe"_

"Who sent you?" His patience was decreasing. Sooner or later, he'd end the conversation with this old timer.

 _"HA HA HA HA HA! You humans are all the same. Lancer or not, boy, you go for blood, for war."_

"Not in this dimension I won't. Now, answer me."

The creature was silent for while before it began to speak. It's voice was very old and raspy. _"there was a scent..."_ said the creature. It lifted its arm and used its bony finger to point to its mask where the nose should be.

 _"_...I _followed it. *cough *cough...and then I found a door."_

"A door?" said Yuto. What door? This was the first time he heared of one leading to this dimension.

 _"When I came out of the door...hehehe"_ There was a short pause. _"I saw the boy with the red eyes. He was sleeping you see and I couldn't resist that delicous smell of his."_

Yuto darkened his look. He was mad. What was this creature doing inside Yuya's room.

 _"But as I got closer, all of a sudden, I was transported here. I tried my best to find it again but you see...heheh-" SWISH! CLANG!_

It was dead. On the floor, its old crooked body bleeded. Its head got separated by a flash of movement, now it fell to the farther side of the alley, its mask smeared with its own blood. Yuto saw no need to continue their talk so he ended it with a 'clean' cut.

Yuya was in trouble again and certainly this 'door' was bad news. He had wondered where the first creature had come from and it looks like he knew the answer. But now that this 'door' had appeared, more of those creatures would target the boy. He couldn't let that happen, not to Yuya.

Yuto slashed his sword again. Removing blood from the silver weapon that bore a dragon crest at the handle. Now that it was clean enough, he retuned it back to the black leather scabbard attached to his belt. Before he made his way out of the alley he heared his phone ringing.

 _Ring-ring ring-ring._ Someone was calling him. He pulled out his phone and answered.

"What do you want, Yugo?"

 _"it's me."_

"Yuri?" He was surprised to hear from his other brother. Usually, they never called each other unless it was really important.

 _"Yes, 'big brother', it's me. Now, I believe you've eliminted that old geezer by now, right?"_

"Yeah. It says it found a door that led it here in this dimension. Do you have any idea about that?"

 _"Not a clue but I'll check up on that later. Look, I have new orders for you. I'm sending you the files now."_

Suddenly, a bright red envelope appeared in front of him. Yuto grabbed it and opened its contents. There were two letters inside and as he read the first one, he was not pleased.

"They can't be serious."

 _"Keep reading."_

He finished reading the letters, now, he was letting the information sink in.

 _"well?"_

"Uniforms. We need uniforms."

 _"already taken care of."_

"a house?"

 _"that too. Anything else?"_

"When will you two be arriving?"

 _"Tomorrow morning."_ He could hear his older brother sighing from the other side. As much as he could admit, he felt frustrated too. Not only was this new order brought for Yuto to accomplish, but this involed both he and Yugo as well. The three of them would be working together and this usually resulted to something terrible. But if it meant protecting Yuya, the three of them would give it a shot.

"I see. Well, I'll see you guys then."

 _"Yeah"_ and there was a click.

Watching the corpse disappear into smoke, Yuto let out a sigh. How was he going to protect Yuya now? he thought. There was a strike of lightning nearby indicating the fall of rain and then, with a wave of his cloak, he too disappeared into the dark.

* * *

 _beep-beep! beep-beep! beep-beep!_ It was 6:30. Well that was the time he needed to be awake. Classes didn't start until 8:30 and he wasn't in any club to begin with. What was he doing here awake when he could still be sleeping soundly in his bed.

 _'oh right. Yuzu.'_

If he wasn't there by seven, Yuya would have to face the wrath of Yuzu's fan. The girl did not like tardiness. Very much.

Of course he thought about skipping school for today but he felt like he didn't need to do that. The encounter with the monster may have messed him up in the head but right now, he was feeling better. There was no nightmare this time and he felt great. Better than ever.

And with that, he dressed himself in his school attire, putting on his red slacks and the white school jacket lined with red and gold. He saw that he didn't need to comb his crimson and green hair so he went out to the kitchen. Instead of taking the stairs, Yuya Sakaki had his own way of going down the second floor.

Grabbing the smooth surface of the pole, he slid down with a spiral and landed on his toes with grace. No one was awake that time to witness his entrance but he was used to not get much attention. Hearing a bark and a meow, he knew that maybe he was wrong about that. Yuya's face suddenly brightened up again to find his pet cat and dog awake and approaching him.

"En~ Core~! Ohayou." He said while knealing down to the brown corge and white cat with yellow and blue eyes. "Are you hungry? Do you wanna eat breakfast with me?"

 _"bark bark"_

 _"meow"_

With that, Yuya grabbed two bowls and filled them with each pet's food. Once that was done, he placed the bowls on the floor and started to work on his own meal. Today, he felt like making himself some toast so he grabbed two slices of bread and put them in the toaster. He opened the fridge to get the butter and some milk and placed them on the kitchen table. Getting a plate and a cup, he headed towards the toaster again, in time for the bread to be ready.

Unlike normal toasters, his mother had bought one that freatured a design when it toasted bread. This time, it had a star toasted at the center. When he placed the two slices in the plate, it was still hot so he had to blow his fingers afterwards.

Pouring milk into his cup and spreading butter on his toast, breakfast was ready and he ate in silence. Turning on the TV, he listened to the news for a class suspension but failed to hear any due to the fact the rain had started to slow down. It didn't take him five minutes to finish his meal so he went out towards the door and put on his magenta shoes.

"Ittekimasu~" said Yuya as he left, yellow umbrella on hand. He stepped outside to meet the soft drizzling rain, unaware of the impeding doom he would have to face that day. Yes, today was truly not his day.

 **End of Chapter 2**

* * *

 _Sorry, readers. I had wanted to make this chapter longer but let's just end it here. Thank you for reviewing to my fic it really encouraged me to write and to be honest, I've never made a character say bad words until now. You see, I'm new to this whole swearing thing but I hope you enjoyed._


	3. His Day

_**Into** **a Dream**_ **Chapter 3 : _His Day_**

 _"Once there was a young prince whose father, the king of the East, sent him down into Egypt to find a pearl. But when the prince arrived, the people poured him a cup. Drinking it, he forgot he was the son of a king, forgot about the pearl and fell into a deep sleep."_

 _\- The Hymn of the Pearl_

* * *

The sky, with its malta blue color, was covered by thick rain clouds that bore a cool grey mist from above. The air smelled of freshness possibly because of the line of trees that bordered the sidewalk. Today was another rainy day for Maiami City but unlike for the past few weeks, the rain had gotten less stronger.

As Yuya walked to school, his thoughts began to shift back to the events of last night, his encounter with his own nightmare in the park. Should he tell Yuzu about it? He thought. The girl would probably understand if he told her the details and everything, and she would less likely panic and worry than his mother. _'But still...'_ he thought. Even _he_ wasn't sure what really happened to him. Although he knew it wasn't just a dream at first, now he was beginning to doubt it himself. Was there really a monster? a stranger who saved him?

 _'Who was he?'_ He thought again, now about the stranger wearing a mask and a cape. Now that he thought about it, that guy was also part of the mystery. Why had he protected him anyway and why does he feel so familiar to him?

He stood still trying to make up his mind about telling Yuzu. He was in his school wear, yellow umbrella on hand and his school bag on the other. Perhaps he should just keep it to himself first, when he's more comfortable to talk about it. By now it was probably more safer to involve only himself. If his friend were to know, he would be risking her life as well, and he did _not_ want that, not at all.

Checking his phone, he saw that the time was almost seven.

"Crap. Yuzu's gonna kill me." And with sudden speed, Yuya dashed to school avoiding to slip on any rain puddles on the street. It was a good thing he didn't take a train to school unlike other kids because he would have been late all the time.

Sure, he was doing better in grades now (it was Yuzu's doing) and sure, he was pretty athletic too with all his fancy backflips and what not. But the thing that sets him off course was the fact that he only had one friend. Yuzu was a great friend of his (the bestest of friends, mind you) and of course he wouldn't really complain about her, but there was just less people involved in his life. Yuya wanted a group to hang out with, a group he could feel comfortable in and not get judged by.

You see, Yuya liked having someone to talk to, he liked the crowd and being in the center of it. In other words, he loved to entertain. It was in his blood after all, being the son of the most famous entertainer in Maiami City, his father, Yusho Sakaki, was a great name of utmost caliber, a noble name at the beginning.

And if it weren't for that day, that day years ago, he would be basking in the limelight by now. He didn't like to think about it that much. It only reminded him of sad, terrible memories that all belonged to the past. To dwell in it would not amount to anything for there was nothing he could have done to change it. Yuya Sakaki was no magician, and he's most definitely not a god.

Taking a turn in the street, Yuya noticed less people walking by, and the hum of vehicles were nowhere to be heard. This creeped him out a lot so he decided to fasten his pace, the scene reminding him of last night.

For a while, only his foot steps and the pitter patters of rain could be heard. It wasn't until then he heard a peculiar sound just behind him. Yuya took a slight halt to listen for it and turned around to see if anyone was there.

There was no one. _'Not again.'_ He thought, crimson eyes becoming quite grim, his hold tightening on both of his items.

 _bum...bum...bum...bum...bum...bum..._

The sound was as if a ball was bouncing nearby. He could hear it being dribbled, coming closer and closer. But not a soul could be seen and this had scared the boy greatly.

Yuya gripped his umbrella more tightly and went to go forward. School was a few blocks away and he could see other students entering the campus. _'Yes, yes, yes.'_ He thought, happy to see that he was not alone.

Now that he was almost at the gate, Yuya took one last glance behind him.

And there, he saw it.

He was sure he saw something creeping from the alley. It was dark, some sort of shadow. He noticed that it was looking directly at him, a mask covering its face. That thing looked awfully similar with the first monster and it was just plain creepy.

He could feel his shivers rise up his body and in an instant, he turned back to make a run for it. No way is he going to fall pray to these freaks. If they want him, they could come get him. He was pretty confident in his running skills actually. Not too long ago, he could remember winning the relay at the school's sports festival, that was a pretty good time and why was he thinking about this right now. _'just keep running, you idiot.'_ He thought.

Soon, he was now inside the main building, switching his shoes with the ones used indoors. He heard nothing weird from the locker rooms so he guessed the creature didn't follow him. By this time, it was just ten minutes before seven so he was safe (from Yuzu, that is). Who knew speed walking was so helpful.

Yuya released an exhausted sigh. "Why is this happening to me?" He said afterwards, not noticing the darkness that crept behind.

* * *

The walk to the music room didn't really give rise to any unwanted attention. Yuya was usually wary of bullies at this time but now, his eyes were more watchful for creatures with masks.

The faint sound of a piano, beautifully playing, could be heard. The person playing couldn't be anyone but Yuzu. After all, his friend _was_ a gifted musician.

But singing wasn't exactly her calling. Sometimes, she would ask Yuya to sing her compositions, even perform it at times in school plays and concerts. In her own way, she was doing her best to give shine to Yuya. It was pretty sweet of her too when she wrote this one song about a card game Yuya loved to play. The lyrics wasn't exactly as relatable but Yuya loved singing it during the festival and Yuzu even accompanied him with her guitar that time.

So yeah, with Yuzu around, he was fine.

As Saint-Saëns' The Swan had finished playing, Yuya arrived at the music room on time. By the window, he saw his friend with dark pink hair and blue eyes resting her elbows on the keys. With the sunlight striking his view just right, he saw how elegant and beautiful the room was, how his friend looked so pretty in her seat, and how everything just showered him with calmness. By now he could say he was no longer scared.

"Ohayou, Yuzu." Said the boy with crimson and green hair. He had placed his bag and umbrella on a seat by the door and stood facing the window. For some reason he didn't want Yuzu to see his face right now, he looked a bit tired, probably more haggard than usual so his back was turned, not wanting the other to notice anything strange just yet.

"Yeah, good morning, Yuya." She smiled at him while getting up from her seat to go closer. Her usual morning routines involved practicing some piano after her morning calisthenics and now that she was done practicing, she had free time with Yuya. As a class representative, Yuzu didn't spend much time with her friends that much. She had papers to submit and organize for the school and that took long hours of boring duty after classes.

The reason why she makes sure Yuya wouldn't be late is because she wanted to be there for him when he might need someone to talk to. Nobody really paid attention to the green and crimson haired teen so it was the least she could do to keep him in good spirits.

"So, have you made up your mind yet?" She asked, now looking at her friend. Something was strange, she noticed. She felt a bit uncertain with how Yuya was acting when he had entered; it was as if he had been very scared of something.

"huh?" What was she talking about? He was about to ask again when he heard a peculiar sound.

 _'bum...bum...bum...bum...bum'_

Clearly he wasn't paying attention right now. Something was making that sound and it sounded like a ball bouncing. He wasn't taking any chances. It was probably the masks again.

"A-a-about what, Yuzu?" He asked nervously. How was he going to explain this Yuzu? That thing could attack them any time soon and right now, there was just no way of escaping easily. He looked around to find something to defend themselves only to find musical instruments here and there, not really fit for the action.

Sweat dripped on his pale forehead as loud thumping noises could be heard behind the door. _'Wasn't Yuzu hearing this?'_

The sudden tension in the room was so alarming that he didn't notice the look of anger placed on Yuzu's face nor the strong beating of his heart. His crimson eyes that shown nothing but dread were only fixated on the door. He was so focused on this that he didn't have time to react to the giant fan Yuzu suddenly brought out.

She had been calling out to him for a while now and he seemed to be testing her patience in the process. Oh he really did it this time.

"Yuya? Yuya?" Still no answer.

"Listen to the person talking to you, you idiot!" and _SLAP!_

"Oww! Yuzu, what was that for?!" His thoughts over his fears were cut short from the horrible pain he felt. Honestly, Yuzu was just so difficult sometimes and this proved to be the worst of times to get slapped by The Fan.

"I'm talking about the outing. The beach, remember? You said you'd tell me if you're going or not." Though she had felt how much Yuya was unwilling to go, she still tried her best to encourage him to join. It was their last year in highschool and she wanted him to enjoy it. With her and with the class.

There was no use avoiding this since everyone was just going to different places afterwards, they won't be seeing each other anymore, or even remember each other on that matter. A whole new life was waiting for them in college and highschool classmates really didn't matter as much.

"Oh, uh...about that, Yuzu..." He smiled apologetically, hand holding the back of his head to where she struck him.

Disappointment filled her eyes. It seems all her efforts failed to reach Yuya afterall. " _sigh_ it's okay, Yuya. I understand if you don't want to." She closed her eyes and turned to the door.

"heh...hehehehe." She heard laughing. _'Isn't that Yuya's voice'_ she thought, now looking at the amused face on her friend's really pretty ones. Okay, Yuzu had to be honest on this oneーYuya looked really cute giggling like that. "Hahahaha!"

But why was he laughing like a madman in front of her? Whatever it was, it was starting to get really annoying. "Quit laughing at me, you jerk! I don't care if you come to the beach or not."

"No, Yuzu. I'm going, I'm going haha..." The noises stopped. The creature must have went away. _'what a relief'_ he thought, mentally wiping off sweat on his head.

"It's just really funny how easily I can read your face. Man, you must have really wanted me to go, huh?" He didn't stop laughing. Though Yuya was sure he was gonna earn another slap from The Fan, he didn't mind at all. He just really needed a good laugh right now. And as usual, it was Yuzu who'd given him the chance. The calmness was back in the room and it felt so good to him.

"That's it! I've had it with you making fun of me, Yuya!" She was really angry now, her face lit up really red (from anger and embarrassment) and in an instant brought up her symbol of power.

 _SLAP!_

"Owwwwww!" Okay, that hurt a lot. "Serves you right for playing with my emotions." She let out a mean look and turned to get her things. Before she left for the door, a smile formed its way into her face and directed it to the boy who was struggling to follow her way out. "But really, Yuya. I'm glad you're coming."

He smiled back, the two now walking the empty corridors of the school.

* * *

"So, have you heard, Yuya?" Asked the girl with dark pink hair. Her pigtails hung by her shoulders as they walked outside to get some fresh air, a knowing smile on her face.

Yuya didn't know what that meant. Yuzu had her own way of messing with him and it's usually worse than what he does as payback. There was just no way of knowing what was in the girl's mind at times. In fact, he doesn't even get girls in the first place. Why were they attracted to teenage werewolves or constantly in the bathroom doing makeup? He'll probably never know.

"No, Yuzu. I don't believe I have." He said, brushing back some hair behind his ear. "But if this is another gossip about Sawatari-kun, I'm not listening to any of that." He said while they entered the outside. No way was he going to listen to some news about a snobby rich kid. Yuya had been alright with Shingo Sawatari at the beginning but after that one time in class where he beat the guy in a card game, things had turned rather annoying for him since the guy had refused to accept defeat. He kept saying how much of a cheat he was, doing cowardly things just like is old man. It just really pissed him off so he preferred to stay away from things related to the guy.

There was cool air surrounding them and it felt good on his skin. Yuya didn't feel like talking right now. He just wanted to relax for a bit in silence.

"No, no, Yuya." Said the girl, fanning her hand in dismissal. "He's weird, I know, but I'm talking about the new students coming today. Everyone's kinda exited about this, aren't you?" Great, more news he wasn't interested in.

"Gee, that sounds sooo interesting, Yuzu." He said rather sarcastically. What did he care about new students? It's not like any of them were looking forward to be his friend. He practically gave up being close to anyone at school.

"Oh give me a break, Yuya. At least hear me out on this one." Yuzu was used to this kind of Yuya being all difficult and stuff. She wasn't really interested in school gossip herself but her position in class gave her no choice. "Fine, what is it?" He said to her, sitting on a nearby bench. A strong breeze had passed the two of them and it sent some of their hair apart. Yuya placed some of the loose reds behind his ear and Yuzu flipping back some pinks.

"Okay, so I was giving out the registration forms to Uremishi-sensei this morning and I happened to hear some teachers talking about the new students coming today."

"okay...and?" He was starting to lose interest in this conversation. The girls from his class had always talked loudly about how they wanted hot guys as classmates. Yuya tied his best to avoid hearing any of their fantasies and lately, he wasn't so lucky.

"They say they're triplets. Like three brothers with really handsome faces, says Kishima-sensei. They just moved here in the city and they live close by. And uh...that's about it." Okay that was pretty useless. The two of them usually talked about how their day was. Either that or they just laughed at random internet memes. Either one was fine with him.

"Look, Yuzu. I see no point in you telling me about this." He glanced around to check for something that might be creeping behind. Seeing none, he turned back to his friend that was rather jumpy on their little topic.

"Wait, here's the weird part." Yuya arched his eyebrow in question, now a bit curious on what his friend was about to say.

"Okay, so the teacher that already seen these guys say they look like you, Yuya."

"Wait, what?" That was a bit weird, he thought. Maybe they don't really look like him. Yuya didn't really think much of his face and a couple of guys sharing his looks wouldn't really bother him that much...maybe...okay, he wasn't sure.

"Look, all I know is that it's their eyes. They have the same eyes as you, Yuya."

He blinked a couple of times to process that information in his mind. Same eyes as his? Okay so maybe it wasn't that bad. Plus, who would compare him to three presumed 'hot' guys anyway? The teacher might had meant it as an insult then. He didn't know.

"Right then. Well, thanks for telling me all that, Yuzu." He wasn't sure what to do with the information. "I just thought you'd need to know about it. Actually, I was thinking that we could show them around school later and一."

"Nope. Pass. I told you, Yuzu, I'm tired of making friends."

"That's because you push them away!" She cried, mad at her friend for being like this. Yuya was being stubborn again and it had always made her feel disappointed and angry. "Yuya, you've been like this ever since school started. Why are you so difficult whenever I try to help you?"

" _I'm_ being difficult?" Why was she accusing him like this. He stood up from the bench, turning to face the other that still sat on her seat. "Well Yuzu, that's because they keep pushing me away." He said, tone rather annoyed by their conversation. "Everyone's the same around me. Haven't you noticed that?"

"Of course I've noticed. We've been friends since nursery. I know how much it hurt when he left. I've seen how twisted the world was to you. But it's different now, Yuya. They've forgotten about it."

He wasn't having any of this. "Forget it. I'm done with this." He began to walk away from the girl. "Yuya!" He could hear his name being called but he decided to just ignore it. He knew Yuzu didn't understand what he felt. She acted like a sister, true, but there was just some things she didn't see clearly. Everyone might have forgotten about the incident.

But he hadn't.

"Yuya! Yuya, wait up!" He turned to see the other panting as she caught up to him. "What do want now?" He asked, stopping so that Yuzu could take a breather.

"Look, I'm sorry I said those things, Yuya. This is our last year, our last year to make memories with everyone. Are you really gonna be like this until we graduate?"

He let out a sigh and looked up to the cloudy scene above them. He was really gonna do this.

Before he said his reply, Yuya took a long breath to clear his mind. It was now or never...probably a next time but there might not even be one so to speak. "Yuzu" he said, now facing his friend. "if I told you why I'm acting this way, will you stop forcing me to make friends?"

"Well, that depends." she said. "What's this about?"

* * *

"Nightmares?" said the girl with dark pink hair. The two of them were on their way to class when Yuya decided to tell her about his little dilemma. "Yeah, I've been having these nightmares about a guy with a mask. It started when I was a kid but I never managed to recover from it." Although he kept the parts about his nightmares coming to life and almost killing him last night, Yuya wanted to at least let his friend know what's been troubling him lately.

"That sounds really bad. Don't you want to see a doctor or something?" She asked, feeling bad that her friend was suffering all this time from his dreams. She had no idea about all this until now. Yuzu was sure Yuya was doing alright at home but it seems she was wrong.

"Look, it's not that bad, Yuzu." He said.

"Not that bad? Yuya, you're basically suffering from sleep disorder. How come you're not telling me about this?" She said, frustration taking place in her tone. "I can help you." She added.

"It's not like anything's gonna fix this or something. Believe me, Yuzu. I've tried and nothing's been working out." It's true. His mother had brought him to therapy, child friendly workshops, and other social-enhancing programs ever since he was small. With no avail, he told his mother he wasn't going to continue and decided to just endure whatever he was dreaming about.

"Then why are you telling me about this now?" She finally asked, deep concern filling her eyes. Yuya was silent for a while before he answered her question. He hid his face and took a step forward.

Silently, he answered her in a hushed tone, almost not letting the other hear.

"… because it got worse." He said, entering their room. The bell rang its shallow tune indicating the start of class and many students began to enter their rooms, talking and laughing amongst themselves as they walked.

Yuzu was left there, wondering what had gotten over the boy. He wasn't usually like this and she knew there was more to these nightmares that he mentioned. "What do you mean it got worse?!" She cried, following the boy to his seat.

* * *

"I'm sorry to disappoint, class," Their homeroom teacher had entered the classroom, a blue folder on hand. "But unfortunately, our new students won't be arriving until Thursday." Said their teacher, Fujiwara.

Small cries of disappointment filled the room coming from the female population. They had been expecting to see 'hot' guys entering the class but as it turns out, today was not the day for fangirling.

Yuya was slightly disappointed. He had been a bit curious on what the three would look like but it seems he'd had to wait like the rest of the class.

 _'I hope they're not mean.'_ Yuya thought, recalling the last time a new student joined the bullying train. He took out his things to prepare for class, double checking his homework before he passed it. And one last time, the image of his mysterious rescuer appeared before his thoughts, capturing his attention like a circus act performing before hundreds of children. _"Oh please not right now.'_ he mentally groaned, not wanting to recall the stranger.

He remembered lavender colored hair that swept upward, the black ones at the back sweeping up the same. The strong look hidden behind goggles and a black mask, revealed only cold grey eyes that stared down unto him. In that moment, Yuya felt himself falling down into those arms again, confused and bewildered. What was this feeling? He asked himself. Was it fear? Anxiety? Amazement?

He didn't know. But he knows he shouldn't be thinking about it right now. Class had begun and he had other things to worry about.

* * *

It was almost second period when a piece of crumpled paper had made its way on top of Yuya's desk. He traced its source only to find Yuzu looking at him with hands signaling him to uncrumple the paper. He did so and read a short message written in pink. It says:

 _ **Tell me everything at lunch. By 'everything' I mean EVERYTHING.**_

He gave a quick nod to his friend in the front row and soon dulled his eyes as he turned his head towards the window. He didn't really plan on telling Yuzu the 'everything' she demanded for but he'll just play it out until he understands his own situation more.

It was bad enough to tell Yuzu about his nightmares but it was definitely worse if she were to know about his nightmares coming to life.

The view from the window only showed him a dark, cloudy sky and the city just along the horizon. His mood was reflected by the scene before himーhazy and confused. There were too many questions in his head. He needed to focus his mind on other matters. Matters such asー

"Sakaki!" Shouted their english teacher. He hadn't noticed his name being called until now. "Please stand up and read the passage or would you rather remain standing outside the classroom?" Her tone sounded irritated now, a book tight on her grasp.

"G-gomen, Tamamura-sensei! I-I didn't hear you call me." He said in a rush as he quickly brought up his book in front of his face to read.

...

 _The lowly hours of night and day_

 _Casts shadows awaiting the moon_

 _And beyond the foggy realm of the night_

 _There hides the stranger of Darkness Loon._

 _...  
_

 _To where the Prince of Day sleeps and dreams,_

 _He dreams of a hidden treasure._

 _There, beneath the Sea of Fear, lies a pearl,_

 _a pearl of valuable measure._

 _..._

 _His father, King of Kings_

 _Commanded him to take flight_

 _For he must retrieve this item of power_

 _And journey off to the realm of the Night_

 _...  
_

 _Within the desert lands of Night,_

 _The Prince had met a serpent._

 _It said to follow the path of blood_

 _For it will surely lead to his merriment._

 _...  
_

 _"I cannot follow that path" said the Prince_

 _"For I have a great quest to fulfill._

 _I must go beneath the Sea of Fear_

 _And be rid our land of evil."_

 _...  
_

 _And so the Prince of Day traveled_

 _And the serpent followed his way_

 _As he reached the bay of the sea,_

 _The serpent had told him to stay._

 _...  
_

 _"Young Prince, if thou art wishes to leave_

 _Please take thy cup of wine._

 _I have poured magic unto it_

 _For it shalt make thy waters shine._

 _Truly I cannot let you go about_

 _for there is darkness that surrounds the sea._

 _So please, dear Prince_

 _Drink this cup for me."_

 _...  
_

 _The Prince drank the serpent's wine_

 _He drank the magic within_

 _He soon fell into a deep sleep_

 _And fell into the Realm of Dream._

 _..._

 _In the dark, he soon forgot_

 _He forgot he was the son of kings_

 _He forgot he was the Prince of day_

 _And forgot the pearl of his dreams._

 _..._

 _The Prince, now asleep,_

 _fell down into the night_

 _There, down below he lay fallen  
_

 _The stranger taking sight_

 _..._

 _It was soon the Prince awoke_

 _startled and-_

 _..._

"That's quite enough, Sakaki." Said the teacher. The words were all in deep english but he managed to read everything perfectly. "You were very good." She added, rather impressed herself. It was strange since he doesn't remember practicing any english that week. This must mean he's good under pressure. Or so he thought.

As Yuya took his seat, something had caught his eye. He was staring at the window again when he noticed the thing outside their room. And of course:

It was the mask.

Fear wrapped itself around him. He was still staring at it as it remained in its place by the trees (far away from where he sat, thank goodness). And like this morning, the shadowy figure was looking directly at him, the crooked smile placed permanently on its mask and two blank dots for eyes that were fixed on him and him alone. With this, Yuya knew he was being watched.

Yuya tried to speak.

He couldn't.

It seems that no one had noticed the creature standing outside their school. Which means, he was the only one who could see these things.

In that moment, Yuya tried to call on everyone's attention but as he was about to do so, he looked back to find the creature again.

This time it stood still just by the window, its masked face near the glass as it leveled itself with the trembling boy. Noticing the creature moving its arm, Yuya saw that it was trying to write something on the window.

The creature revealed a dark, bony hand, tracing its long sinister looking finger on the glass. Yuya watched in horror the scene before him as the creature wrote its message. It appears the creature was writing with something red, something like blood. And it said:

 ** _Hello YUYA :)_**

As he read his name written on the window, Yuya could only stare at the creature who now walked back towards the empty street. He was alone now, scared as he was the first time he saw them. _  
_

"Now please turn to page 44, everyone!" Their teacher stated loudly, now in the quiet room. "I would like us to read 'The Valley of Unrest' by Edgar Allan Poe."

Everyone turned to page 44 and read the poem. Their eyes were fixed on their books as they read line after line. Not one of them noticed. Far back by the window sat the cowering boy, tears decorating his crimson eyes as his body shook from fear. A lonely fear that he was oh so familiar with.

* * *

The last teacher before lunch stood up and dismissed the class. It was lunch time now and the students have left the room to eat elsewhere, talking and laughing amongst themselves as they did so.

A group of girls had remained inside, chatting about this and that, not noticing the boy who sat idly on his seat in silence.

"Ne, Yuya. Are you alright?" Asked the girl who found her seat by his desk. The creature didn't return after it appeared to him during their english. Right now he was still scared though; stressed inside with fear still fresh in his mind.

"Ah...y-yeah. I'm alright, Yuzu." He lied.

She furrowed her eyebrows at that. _sigh. 'I had to ask.'_ Clearly, Yuya wasn't doing well. He practically looked horrible right now. His tired eyes that had bags dangling below were pink from what appears to be from crying. Just everything about her friend seemed so full of paranoia. She had to know what's going on.

"It's lunch time now, Yuya." said the girl as she brought up two bento boxes on the desk. She and Yuya take turns providing each other lunches. They were just sick of eating the same cooking everyday so a schedule was provided.

"Better tell me what's going on right now or I'll swear I'll make you spit it out." She said as she stared at the boy in front of her, slightly giving out an 'I know there's something fishy' look.

Yuya knew she wasn't kidding. He didn't know what to do but he was sure telling Yuzu about it wasn't gonna solve any problems. He couldn't risk anyone's life right now and as much of a terrible liar he was, Yuya only hoped Yuzu wouldn't suspect anything too soon (which she probably has).

"Okay, okay. Fine. I'll tell you." he said, stuffing his mouth with an omelette, green chopsticks at hand. _'Here goes nothing.'_

"What do you wanna know?" He asked, ready to cut out some parts of the truth. He avoided looking at the other and rubbed his eyes, hoping to get the tiredness off. He had let out some tears during their english class because of all the fear, and it seems Yuzu had also noticed. There was no mistaking how worried she looked for him. Lying to her just made him feel worse. _'No. She could get targeted. It's not safe for her.'_ He thought to himself.

"EVERYTHING!" She cried, throwing up her hands in the air to indicate just how much she wanted to know. "Can you be specific?" He asked, busily eating his meal.

"Fine." She said, a bit irritated at the remark. "Something happened to you yesterday." She eyed him at that. "What is it?" She asked, awaiting the other to reply soon.

She got him there. What was he going to say?

"Ah..well...I was at the...ah..park when.." He didn't know what to say next.

"When, what?" She said, now more curious than ever. She had leaned closer to the boy who looked uncertain of what he's saying, observing all his movements as if he was a new specimen of some sort.

" _sigh_ look, it's kinda hard to explain, Yuzu." He said, giving out to his exhaustion. He felt weak just thinking about what he'd say to the other. "You might not even believe me."

"I'll be the judge of that." Said Yuzu as she crossed her arms. She just wanted some answers and right now, she was impatient in getting them.

"Fine." He said, closing his eyes before continuing. "When I was at the park, I saw this man." Okay, that was true. "It was getting dark when I saw him. But then I noticed, he was also looking at me...and..uh.."

"What did this guy look like?" She asked, the boy still avoiding her gaze. "You have to tell me the details, Yuya. I want to know what happened to you. What are you afraid of?!"

And suddenly, their eyes met. Her blue ones suddenly looking at crimson red. Yuzu couldn't explain the look her friend was giving her. It was as if she was looking at an abused animal, weak from all the violence and now afraid to go out to the world.

There was something definitely wrong with Yuya and it seems he does not plan on telling her what it is. "Yuya..." She could only say his name as she looked at the boy who now held back some tears. In all their days together, she could only remember Yuya crying twice. One was when his father went missing, and the other when he found out he died.

"Yuya...what's going on? What did the man do to you?" She got up from her seat to comfort the boy. He was shivering and his breathing wasn't right so she brought her hand to rub the other's back, circling them in a soothing pace, just enough to calm the boy down.

"Yuzu...the man...he..heー" Yuya couldn't say it. Tears began to flow down his eyes as he stood up to make his way out. Flashes of memories about the monster had stunned him. He remembered that horrible feeling he had as he was about to get slaughtered by that thing, the sinister yet amused face it made as it held him down.

He ran as fast as he could, down the hall and into the locker rooms, ignoring the shouts and calls of his name from his friend.

He stopped by the lockers to take a deep breath, wiping his tears that continued to flow out his eyes. He held tight to his uniform jacket and hunched down into a ball, closing his eyes to forget about everything.

Yuya suddenly remembered the monster as he spoke to Yuzu. He was overcome with fear once again. _'don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it.'_ He kept telling himself. Why was he acting this way? He wondered. Why was he so afraid?

"Yuya!" He heard his name again, now looking up to see his friend catching up to where he sat.

As Yuzu got closer, she leaned down to him, holding him by the shoulders to look at his face. He stared back at the confused face she was making, still breathing heavily and now feeling a bit nauseous. "Yuya, why did you run away?" She said to him as she rubbed his back again.

"Yuzu..." He said, voice shaky and soft. "every time I think about what happened yesterday, I...remember what he looks like...that scary look he gave me." He closed his eyes in defeat, lowering his head to look down on the floor.

"That man..." He whispered to her, the empty halls echoing his soft words. "...he was from my nightmares." He said, looking up once again to the girl who now held him close, embracing him to ensure he was safe with her. "He was wearing the mask." He finally said.

* * *

"I hate this!" Yelled a boy with blue and blonde hair. He stood on top of an old school bus, the ruins surrounding the area he and two other guys where busily searching in. "What are we doing here in this dump?! We were suppose to attend school!" He cried, kicking a box of old newspapers.

"They ordered us to investigate here first." Said another boy, this time with black and lavender hair. "We'll be at school by Thursday, Yugo. So stop complaining."

"But I want to see Yuya _now_. He could be in danger as we speak while we're here doing some shitty monster hunt in the middle of nowhere!" He cried, walking past a ditch with blackish liquid. It smelled horrible down there and none of the them enjoyed anything about their sudden mission. "We should have let Yuri do this alone." He said, now mumbling out words to himself.

"Shut up, you brat." Said the one named Yuri. He had pink and purple hair, and wore a violet and blue waistcoat with two capes along his back, one red, one purple. "I would have gladly done this alone if the orders hadn't told the two of you to come along."

"Why would they order the three of us to do this anyway?!" Yugo cried again as he leaped up towards another vehicle.

"The same reason why they ordered the three of us to keep an eye on Yuya." Said his brother, Yuto, who wore a dark tattered cape on a dull green shirt with black pants. He was staring closely on a pile of used car wheels, watchful over what seems to be their target. But in this case, they had more than one monster get rid of.

"Brother, I'm sensing a lot of movement by that pile." Said Yuri, now standing next to Yuto. "They ordered us to eliminate these things. We should act now."

"Not until I say so, Yuri." Yuto said, now bringing out his sword. "I want answers first."

"Is this about the 'door' you mentioned?" The other said, also bringing out a sword similar to Yuto's. The three brothers carried with them powerful swords with dragon crests on the handle that were made of silver. Each one was studded with gems that decorated the dragon's eyes. For Yuto, dark sapphire decorated the eyes of his XYZ dragon, and for Yuri's Fusion dragon, it was amethyst, and lastly, for Yugo, his Synchro dragon had bright topaz.

"Wait." Said the youngest of the three. "What door?"

"Not now, Yugo." Said the eldest brother. "They've noticed we're here. Get into position."

 _KA-BOOOOOM!_

And suddenly there was an explosion just by the pile where their targets were hiding. The three brothers saw the creatures squirm out of their hiding place, heading off far away to escape. All of these things wore hooded white cloaks, a mask on its face that all shared similar expressions. They were as short as a five year old and moved swiftly like a monkey, barefooted as they ran for their lives.

In an instant, the three of them leaped place to place, slashing their swords at the creatures who screamed and squirmed. Like ants on the wall, these things were easily taken down one by one, two by two as their numbers gradually decreased from all the chaos. For a while, the sound of shrieks could be heard among the ruins until not a sound could be heard at all.

The smoke from the fire caused by the explosion had ascended onto the air like a hot air balloon, and scattered onto the ground of trash and waste were the lifeless bodies of the little creatures. All except one still remained, squirming and crying on the clutches of Yuri who smiled grimly at it. _"Release me, you scum! Our kind will have its fair share on you soon enough and we willー"_

"Oh, good. This one talks." Said Yuri. "All the better to play with, right brother?"

"You can have your fun with it after we're finish clarifying some things." Yuto said, cleaning his sword of blood. Yugo was seen heading off. Their mission had ended so he expected this to happen.

 _"You'll never get anything out from me!"_ cried the creature, voice now shaking and it's mask half broken. It spoke like an old man, wrinkles on its sharp pale hands to indicate it's old age.

"We'll see about that." Yuri said to it, rather amused of its boldness.

"Tell us about the door." Said the eldest, now facing the creature who was held by Yuri, thorny vines tightly wrapping its body in place.

 _"You fools think I would simply spit out information to my enemy?! If that is what you think, human, then you are wrong!"_ Cried the creature.

 _"For many nights, my brothers have fallen one by one because of you, but that does not matter_ _now!"_ It said, voice now gaining in volume. _"Soon, the boy will be ours. We will steal him from you, and we will give him to our king. Your magic has protected him quite enough, boy. And now that we built a door, his body is ours!"_

"hm, I wonder about that." Yuri said. "For a while, it seems you haven't been successful in capturing Yuya."

"Where's the door?" Yuto asked. "You have ten seconds to answer my question before I shove this sword into your throat."

"Where's the fun in that?" Said Yuri. "We can always start at the fingers, brother."

 _"I will say nothing to you regarding the door! Kill me, torture me, you will get nothing!"_

"Seven seconds." He said, nearing his sword at the creature's throat. "Think of your last words carefully, old timer."

 _"Kill me."_ It said.

"Where is it?"

 _"Kill me."_

"You have five seconds. Where is it?"

 _"Kill me..."_

"four...three...two...

 _"Kill me, you scum!" SLASH!_ and with that, a sword pierced its throat, blood now dripping towards the ground.

"We could have tortured it, brother." Yuri said, dropping the creature's corpse on the ground. "They always spit out information when I torture them." He added.

"We can find another one next time. We'll be wasting out time if we continued with this one."

"I suppose. But it raises more questions about this door." Yuri said.

The two of them began too walk towards the exit, the clouds above the sky gathering together to shower the earth once again. "Do you think the dream had caused this, brother?" Yuri asked, his eyes sharp, contemplating the situation more clearly.

Yuto was looking at the sky when he answered. "I don't know." is all he said.

 **End of Chapter 3**

* * *

 _Okay, that ends it, guys! *Dodges the tomatoes being thrown* I'm sorry that this chapter took a while to post but at least it's pretty long. You see, I'm quite busy right now and I had a lot of exams to take this week and the last so I don't really have much time to write stuff. Anyway, thanks for reviewing to my fic and I do hope it's not OOC or something. You see, I'm also trying to catch up with the anime so I'm not really sure what some characters would act like or say in the matter. ...Well, bye for now and I'll try to post something as soon as I can._ _  
_

 _ps. If you're wondering about the poem, it's just something that I wrote and based about the Hymn of the Pearl. I'll let you guys guess the symbolism for yourselves so don't try to ask me about it (I'm bad at explaining things).  
_


	4. Those We Don't Speak Of

**Into _a Dream_ Chapter 4 : _Those We Don't Speak Of_**

* * *

The wind blew hard on Yuto's face as he stood on top of an electrical post that afternoon. He was looking at the students from Yuya's school as they made their way to their homes. Their faces gave no importance to him, all he wanted to see right now is the boy with beautiful emerald green and crimson hair. Yes, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he really wanted to make sure the boy was okay.

After all, a monster could appear any time soon while he wasn't looking and it seems there were already two nearby. He'd take care of those things later after he made sure the boy was okay. What happened the other night at the park was somehow concerning him since he saw how frightened Yuya looked. He saw the pitiful face of a boy tormented for years and that just sent daggers to his heart. Truly he was now more determined to get rid of these things once and for all. Yuya didn't deserve to be treated like prey, he was more than that, more special to him, to his brothers.

But, for some reason, he didn't know why.

* * *

The mission given to the triplets was simple. _Protect Yuya at all costs and eliminate any given enemy within or without vicinity._

In other words, they were soldiers on a mission. At a young age, they were taught how to fight so that one day, the three of them would later on banish the darkness that lingered in every dimension.

This darkness took the lives of many people, causing their victims to commit mass murder and wreck havoc unto people that were unaware of its existence. It always took in many forms, choosing only gifted vessels that could satisfy its hunger for destruction. This way, it was close to being impossible to identify those in the influence of its evil. So it was up to the Lancers to eradicate them for good.

The Lance Defense Soldiers or LDS is an organization created and founded by Reiji Akaba, composed of Lancers trained to fight off dark beings threatening cities (using both magic and technology of course).

Working undercover as a CEO of a tech company, Reiji keeps everything with the utmost secrecy. And with that, only a handful of people were allowed to know of their actions. It was already a great task to defeat the darkness in hiding so it was best to include less outsiders as possible. But despite all that, Reiji was a remarkable strategist and did his business with trustworthy alliances. Yes, perhaps humanity wasn't completely doomed after all.

Yuto, Yuri, and Yugo on the other hand, were among the elite forces in the association, each the most skilled in their designated world. Yuto in the Xyz dimension, Yuri in Fusion and Yugo in Synchro.

But for some reason, the three brothers didn't get along too well with each other. They just didn't like how they were equally the best at everything and for this reason, they highly disliked being in the others' shadow (if that was possible) and thus decided to live separately from each other in their own dimensions.

Little is known about their parentage. Some say they were born from super beings, some even believed they were born from gods themselves but whoever was responsible for their existence, one fact remains on who they would follow, and it was none other than the LDS founder himself, Reiji Akaba.

The brothers respected Reiji. To them, he was someone who they can trust (most of the time), and this proved to be true whenever they were assigned missions. No one really doubted their tasks and it wasn't that much of a big deal when all they needed to do was just eliminate some creatures causing trouble. It was mostly a give and take actually, their salary being quite understandably huge and all.

But recently, there has been an outbreak happening within the Standard dimension. Mysterious yet powerful creatures had appeared within Standard's capital, Maiami city, and it was sooner that these things were about to make contact with civilians.

This was strange since it was the only dimension that the darkness couldn't fully infiltrate for reasons still unknown. Warry of the situation, Reiji sent Yugo to investigate since he was the only one among the three available that time. But just when said teen was about to go to Standard, Yuto had already taken his mission. He left off without a word (something he rarely does since he was the responsible one) and soon came into contact with a civilian under attack.

And that civilian was none other that Yuya Sakaki.

For a while, Yuto had come to know the boy with crimson red eyes as he dreamt. In his dreams, he had seen the boy playing by the beach. He had seen him laugh and be happy as he played all day long in that place.

But so had his brothers.

They didn't know why but, Yuya had suddenly become a huge part of their lives. Whenever they remember the dream, a strange feeling goes about their hearts. It is as if they long to be with him, to meet him in person (a very conflicting matter so to speak).

So the three of them decided to ignore the subject and focus on their missions. After all, it was dangerous to involve the boy in their field of work. Who was this boy in the first place? And why had he looked so similar to them?

So with all of the confusion he was feeling, Yuto had enough.

It seems he was the one most affected among his brothers. As he slept, the dream of Yuya by the beach would replay in his mind. And whenever he would wake up to see the boy nowhere in sight, he felt sad and alone as if a piece of him was gone. He lay in his bed for a while in that gloomy apartment of his, still hearing the cheerful laughs of the boy in his dreams. He tried his best to ignore the feeling.

But he couldn't. It made him feel weak.

Whatever came over him when he stole Yugo's mission was still unknown to him. That time, Yuya was in trouble and he needed to be the one to save him. He just needed to be.

Yuto had hoped he would be able to talk to the boy for the first time and be his friend or something, but his plans were not so successful as he thought it would. _'Yuya mustn't know about you.'_ He told himself.

And it was true. The boy was already being targeted by these things. He had no right to involve him further into these dangers. From a distance, his duty was only to protect him, not befriend him. The dream only proves that Yuya was to be protected by the three of them. It was the only explanation he could think of and to him, it was the truth.

But he thought wrong.

Surprisingly, a new mission was given to him and is brothers while he was at Standard and it was to work undercover as students in Maiami City Prep School. The reason they needed to do this was to investigate why there were sudden appearances of masked creatures in the capital. They were also suppose to keep an eye on Yuya since he was the only one (so far) being targeted by these things. Yuto would have loved to do this alone but Reiji had different thoughts on the matter.

"Yuya Sakaki seems to be quite linked with you brothers." He said to him over the phone that night. "It is best if the three of you guard him while investigations are being done." He added.

"Who knows," he said. "He could be the key to wiping out their existence."

Yuto highly doubts that. Why would Yuya, a normal highschool student, be the key to defeat the darkness? He didn't know much details about him so chances are that Yuya is just your average teen living up his life to entertainment.

But Yuto felt something different towards Yuya. He wasn't sure what it was but it was powerful, yet very fragile. He felt it when he held on to the boy's trembling hands. And as he stared down into those helpless eyes, deep within the boy, there was something more to the him that meets the eye. And Yuto felt it. He felt that there was something he must soon uncover about these events too. The dreams, the masks, Yuya, and this 'Door' had something fishy behind it. He needed to find out what it was. Soon.

But anyway, Yuto couldn't wait for tomorrow.

He would see Yuya in class and probably get to know him too. Since the three of them were tasked to keep an eye on the boy, there was no harm getting closer to him as 'normal' friends, right? It made him feel good just thinking about how they could finally be acquainted with each other.

Well, not exactly. The boy might not even like him, he might get scared of him too.

Although Yuto felt like he needed to be closer with the boy, it does not necessarily mean the boy would also feel the same way to him.

But it didn't matter.

As long as he was keeping him safe, Yuto was fine being only a stranger to Yuya.

 _'It's better this way.'_ He kept telling himself.

'Yeah right.' said a voice in his head.

He leaped on to another electrical post and searched for the boy with crimson eyes. With no avail, he decided to enter the building. Why hasn't Yuya gone out yet? He wondered.

* * *

As the inky shadows of afternoon danced about the hallway, less students have appeared within its perimeter. Classes were finished for the day and it was time for everyone to leave.

"C'mon, Yuya. I'll walk you home." Said Yuzu with a smile. She was already by the door with her bag on hand waiting for the other to follow.

"Ah...sure, Yuzu." He answered sheepishly. He felt alright now thanks to Yuzu. And as it turns out, letting your emotions out of you helped. For now, he no longer felt fear in him. With Yuzu around, it was safe and comforting.

"I'll treat you some icepops? What do ya say, Yuya?" She said to him as they made their way to the corridor.

"Alright" said Yuya, letting out a smile.

With that, Yuzu was happy. She smiled to him too as they walked down the corridor, now with less people walking by. Right now, her top priority was to bring Yuya back on his feet. She couldn't stand how he looked so scared and hurt a while ago, it was painful for her just seeing him like that.

They were almost at the locker rooms when Yuya noticed he forgot something.

"Oh, I think I forgot my books in class." He said, still checking his bag if they were there. "Um... just wait for me by the gate, Yuzu. I'll go get them."

"No, it's okay. I can go with you, Yuya." She said, hoping he would agree. Her friend usually got into trouble more often than anyone in school. She didn't want him to run into some bullies or anything.

"Nah, I'll be quick. Promise." And with that, he left off in a hurry.

* * *

His way back to their classroom wasn't much of a problem. It was just a bit off when he entered inside. As he opened the rolling door, Yuya felt another presence nearby. When he turned around, there was no one; a usual occurrence for him nowadays.

But ignoring the eerie surroundings, Yuya made his way inside only to see clatter all over the room.

Everything was a mess. Books, chairs, and desks were left into disorder. The scene before him made him wonder who or what could have done this. It was as if a wild animal was let loose inside the room.

Yuya was starting to feel like running away but the thought of his books just nearby came into mind. He'd just grab them quickly and run like hell.

Yeah, he'll do that.

He was able to spot one of his books on the floor. Picking it up, he noticed that it had its pages torn and crumpled. The same thing was for the other two books. But giving no time to contemplate on this very creepy situation, Yuya quickly stuffed his things inside the bag and hastily made his way out.

Without looking in front as he ran, Yuya did not notice the person in his way.

There was a loud _thump_ and Yuya saw himself nearing the floor. But before he could make contact with it, he felt someone catching him on time. And unlike him, his bag had met the cold floor, now silently waiting there to be picked up.

He was held on the hips by surprisingly tight grasps, and was now feeling a bit awkward since the person was actually a guy. Facing the person who still held on to him, Yuya looked up up only to meet cold gray eyes that looked very familiar.

"Careful." Says the person, finally releasing him to stand.

"Yeah." He answered, still staring at the other's eyes. "Thanks."

Right now, Yuya felt uncomfortable.

The guy had on a dull green shirt (which he refused to tuck in) with a black tie and wore black skin-tight pants with shiny leather shoes. His hair, which had lavender colored bangs, swept upward just like the black ones behind it. But what really made Yuya feel uneasy was the fact that he wore silver studded wristbands and a matching choker on his neck.

It was just like seeing some punk style rocker out of nowhere. It was creepy. The guy was pretty close to him too, just standing there next to him with this serious face on.

 _'what was his problem?'_ Thought Yuya.

"You okay?" Says the guy suddenly, making him jump a little.

"Uh..y-yeah! Sorry that I didn't see you there...And...um...thanks again for...uh...catching me back there." He answered with a confused smile, hands behind his back.

"It was nothing." Says the guy.

Seeing that it was the end of their conversation, Yuya went to his bag on the floor.

"So why were you running so fast?"

"What?" The question came unexpectedly. Who was this person anyway? It didn't look like he studied here.

"You were running, why?" Repeats the guy, expression never changing. His eyes, however, were now sharp, sort of like he was angry at something.

"Oh...well..it's just that I thought there was someone following me. B-but don't worry! It was probably just my imagination." Yuya quickly states as he now got hold of his bag and was now hugging it.

"You don't say." Says the person, now taking a glance towards Yuya's classroom.

The guy was behaving pretty strangely for Yuya. He blinked a couple of times before he said something again.

"um...are you studying here too?" He said, the guy now staring at him. Yuya looked away to avoid the other's gaze, it was making him feel weird.

"I-it's just that I don't think I've seen you here... before." He mutters shyly, looking at his left. The guy suddenly got nearer to him and he felt his face getting hotter. Wait...

Was he blushing?!

 _'no, no, no, no, no. Stop embarrassing yourself.'_ he scolded silently. _'why are you so near me?!'_

Yuya found it quite difficult talking to this person. The guy was actually quite attractive, about his age too (just a bit taller), and it was just so weird how he thought he looked good. Coming from a guy like him, it was definitely kinda gay. Okay, not that it was offending or anything. He didn't really took in any interest in people, actually. But somehow, this guy made him see the light... Or was it the dark?

But anyway, why is everything so awkward right now? He wondered.

In his moment of self-argument and belittlement, the guy suddenly let out a smirk. "I'm new here." He said.

Was he finding him amusing? Yuya thought.

"Tomorrow's my first day and I decided to pick up my books and stuff a while ago." He says, hands now placed inside his pockets.

"Oh, I see." Yuya smiled. "Sorry for asking."

"No. It's fine." The other said, glancing again towards the classroom.

The awkward silence strikes again, making Yuya feel so out of place. He decided to ignore all that and just be polite to the person who seemed to be waiting for him to do something.

"My name's Yuya." He said with a light smile, hoping the other didn't mind him introducing himself. Most of the students already knew about him and his so called 'reputation' as a Sakaki. But Yuya found this person different. He was cool, no doubt but most of all, he didn't say mean things to him.

 _'Must be out of town'_ Yuya thought.

"Well, I'm Yuto." He says, a half smile on his face. "And it's nice to meet you, Yuya-kun."

Yuya's cheeks suddenly turned a shade pink. The way this 'Yuto' guy said his name was just so... _'Ugh! Why?!'_

 _'_ "Y-yeah, nice to meet you too." Yuya tried saying, still having trouble processing what was happening. He was blushing like an idiot, yes but why he was blushing like an idiot, nobody knew.

He noticed that the guy's expression slightly changed into a more lighter tone. The guy probably thought he was funny.

"You must be in a hurry then, Yuya." The guy says, still looking amused.

"Hm?..oh! Yeah, I _am_ in a hurry!" He says, now moving towards the exit. How had he forgotten about Yuzu? She might not treat him to icepops anymore.

"Sorry, but my friend's waiting for me outside!" He shouts a little, waving his arm for a goodbye.

"Yeah, just try not to bump into anymore people again."

"I won't, and I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Yuto-kun!" He laughed while speaking. Yuya disappeared into the hall way, leaving Yuto there in the empty corridor.

 _'Cute'_ thought the boy who now stood there alone. The sky was now dim and shadows have covered his face, his eyes that were gray turned to look at the classroom again, anger rushing through his face.

Once he made sure the other was gone, Yuto mouthed something inaudible and out of nowhere, his sword appeared in a cloud of black dust. It was no question that the brothers were highly skilled Lancers. This meant they have mastered spells as well as fighting techniques, instantly becoming the best among the elites.

Right now, Yuto needed to get rid of two creatures inside the campus. And it seems Yuya sensed one nearby. This was bad. Yuya was indeed being targeted by these things more often now than it used to be.

It was true that they casted a protective spell on Yuya beforehand but it won't last long if this keeps up. The masks were quite strong. And to make matters worse, they can cross dimensions now.

Yuto neared the door to the classroom, hearing a monstrous sound coming from inside. It sounded like it was laughing. With its high pitched voice, it was like hearing a clown laugh at a knock knock joke.

Just plain out terrible.

He opened the door with great force, slamming it on the other side with a loud _bam!_ that startled the creature.

Yuto saw the messy room. He looked for the creature only to find it cowering on the upper corner of the room. And as usual, it wore a sinister mask to conceal its face.

 _"We have here a Lancer, I see! Hahahahaha!"_ shouts the creature, laughing insanely afterwards. Yuto noticed its stick-like figure up on the walls. It was rather darker than most of the masks he's seen (and killed), almost as dark as a shadow. The white mask it wore made it look more scary too (some kind of a slim No Face cosplay to be honest).

Yuto quickly stepped on top of a desk and flung towards the creature with his sword now pointed at the enemy. In an instant, the creature's torso was pierced by silver. Only shouts and screams coming from it were heard in the room. It just stayed there, stuck onto the wall with a sword on its belly. Blackish liquid dripped down on the wall too.

It was a disgusting sight.

"Where's the door?" He said to the creature in pain, never leaving his place on top of the desk.

 _"Gahhh! Get you sword out of me and then maybe I'll tell you where it is, boy hehe!"_

He grabbed the handle only to cut deeper to its skin as more cries of pain filled the room. "It seems you don't understand your place in this situation." He says with a dark tone. "Tell me where it is or I'll kill you."

 _"Hahaha! Easy now, boy. I'll tell you where it is."_ laughs the creature. Its eyes that were glowing yellow stared deeply onto the boy whose face was filled with annoyance. _"That is if you are willing to exchange my freedom for it."_

Another sword appeared out of nowhere for Yuto to grab and slice through the creature's left arm. By now, the creature let out screams of unimaginable pain, echoing through the empty halls of the school. Dark blood kept flowing out from the creature's body, a pool of it staining the walls and floor.

"The door, where is it?" asks the boy with now bloodied clothes.

The creature used its remaining arm to strike him but the attack was stopped by a hand that instantly held it in place.

 _"Hehe, you're quite strong."_ says the creature. _"..._ _for a brat."_

"And you seem quite weak." Yuto said. "...for a monster."

 _"Hahaha! Careful who you insult, boy. You might regret it."_

"Hm...Tell me where it is and maybe I can finish you off quickly." Yuto said passively, a sword sudenly on hand again.

 _"Then I'll give you a clue, what do you say?"_

"Just spit it out" he says, anticipating the other to answer, the sword near the creature's throat as well.

 _"Hehehe. As you wish, brat... but the door you seek, it isㅡ_

 ** _Ririririririringringringringririringring!_**

There was a sudden burst of sound. A ringing noise that was so unpleasant to hear. Yuto quickly dropped the sword and covered his ears. The sound both unbearable to him and the monster.

 _'Gahhhhhh! Ahhhhhh! Make it stoooooop! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!_

Yuto saw the creature shouting as it frantically shook its head left and right. It must have had it worse than him since he saw blood staining the mask it wore.

No sooner did he notice the creature's death when its head gave out and burst like a balloon. The ringing stopped then but now there was more mess scatering around. A pool of blood and other remains were left there on the corner, releasing smoke as it slowly disintegrated into the air.

What exactly did just happen right now?

* * *

"Tadaima!" Shouts a boy with red and green hair. Yuya was finally home after a visit to the convenience store and as promised, Yuzu had bought him sweet delectable icepops along the way.

He had already finished the watermelon flavored treat and had said his goodbyes to his friend.

"Take care, Yuya. And make sure you sleep well tonight." She said to him with a quick hug before going off to her house.

Yuya gave her an assuring smile and waved his goodbyes.

* * *

"Okaerinasai, Yuya-kun." Says his mother in the kitchen.

As soon as he entered their house, the smell of his mother's cooking filled his nostrils with delight.

"How was school?" asked his mother who was now standing by the sink. Yuya had entered the kitchen to find the table ready for their dinner. Today they were having curry, and everybody knew Yoko Sakaki could make a mean curry. His mouth was practically watering right now.

"The usual." He simply said, putting down his bag on a chair. "Just me and Yuzu. Talking." He added, grabbing a plate and a spoon for the two of them.

"You're not gonna do your homework first?"

"Later. Dinner comes first, mom. I'm starving."

"Alright then, my little piggy." She said to her son, poking his nose and pinching his cheeks.

* * *

In his bedroom, Yuya sat idly on the chair of his desk. He leaned forward to grab the pile of books that he needed to use for homework. Now that the pile was in front of him, Yuya remembered the state of his books. Someone had messed up their classroom, and most of his things were in disarray. He chose to open his english book and saw that it had only crumpled pages here and there. He straightened it out before he moved along the next book which was math.

But unlike his english book, this one was in a way worse condition.

It had pages torn and scratched, pages swiggled with random lines in red crayon, and as he flipped through the pages further, Yuya saw that there was something written on it.

 **When you see**

 **When you look**

 **He comes about**

 **On every nook**

 **...**

 **When he looks at you,**

 **Better not shout**

 **When he smiles at you,**

 **Better cover your mouth**

 **...**

 **Heedy-ho, heedy-hey**

 **He watches you everyday**

 **From the closet in your room**

 **From the ceiling until noon**

 **...**

 **Heedy-hee, heedy-hoo**

 **He really likes to stare at you**

 **With your pretty red eyes**

 **And your beautiful face**

 **It's not a lie**

 **He wants your taste**

 **...**

 **When you sleep**

 **When you dream**

 **He comes around**

 **To hear you scream**

 **...**

 **As he covers his face,**

 **He puts his mask on**

 **You'll hear him coming**

 **When he sings his song**

 **...**

 **It goes _'heedy-ho_**

 ** _Heedy-hey_**

 ** _Can I please come_**

 ** _And stay today?_**

 ** _Heedy-hee_**

 ** _Heedy-hoo_**

 ** _Can I please come_**

 ** _And stay with you?'_**

 ** _..._**

 **When you see**

 **When you look**

 **Be really careful**

 **Of the creepy crook**

 **...**

 **When he looks**

 **When he sees**

 **Make sure to run**

 **Before he gives you a kiss**

 **...**

Reading through the last line, Yuya threw the book across the room, hugging himself with the look of fear in his system again.

"Why? Why?!" He shouts at the book.

"Leave me alone!" He cried again, closing his eyes as his legs weakened and sat at the floor.

For a moment it was silent. Only his deep breaths could be heard. But soon, he heard a laugh.

It was coming from the closet.

 _'hehehehehehe'_

"Go away." He said, still closing his eyes.

It got louder.

 _'HEHEHEHEHE'_

"Go away."

The laughter didn't stop. It was starting to hurt his ears.

 _'HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YUYA! YUYA! YUYA! YU!YA! YU-YA! YU-YA! Hahahahaha!_

"GO AWAY!"

And then it was silent.

It was as if loud speakers were turned off. Yuya noticed this and slowly opened his eyes.

He saw his closet.

Its door was slightly open.

But nothing came out.

He stood up from where he sat, just staring at the dark space within the closet. But before he could get near it, his door suddenly opened and out came his mother, worried and confused.

"Yuya?"

The boy would not answer. He just stared at the closet, the look of fear placed on his face.

"Yuya, I heard you shouting. What happened?"

The boy suddenly fainted. His body just gave out like an off switch was turned. Yoko was quick enough to catch him, and the two of them now on the floor.

"Yuya? Yuya?" She said, the sound of panic in her voice for she did not know what to do.

There was no answer from the boy.

"Yuya? Yuya, wake up." she said his name over and over, shaking him to get him to wake.

Oh, she was scared. Yuya had never fainted like this and his breathing was heavy now. He tossed and turned, eyelids showing active REM.

It was clear to her now what was happening.

He was having a nightmare.

"Yuyaaa!"

* * *

It was dark when he opened his eyes. He could only see himself, nothing more but him and the darkness.

Yuya noticed he wasn't in his room. He was sure this was someplace...else.

"Hello?" he asked, walking forward in search for someone, anyone.

"Hello?!" he asked louder this time. The result was the same.

For some reason, he was wearing his pajamas right now (you know, the goofy white and green checkered ones Yuzu always laughed at). He didn't remember putting it on though. In fact, he didn't remember much after eating dinner.

"Is anybody here?!" he cried.

And then, something caught his eye.

It was a floor mirror probably taller than him by a ruler. It stood there a little further than him so he had to jog a little to notice it's well-crafted frame. It looked antique, with thick dust covering its surface. Yuya slowly neared his hand to touch the cold mirror, wiping off some dust to see his reflection.

But it was a different reflection he saw.

Staring intensely at his face were a pair of black dotted eyes belonging to a creature wearing a mask. Yuya then took a step back. The creature, he noticed, just kept staring at him. It tilted its head a little, looking very happy with its mask.

"No..." he said, taking more steps backward and then finally running away.

"No no no no no no"

And then suddenly, as he was running to who knows where it was safe, more mirrors came into view, now surrounding the frightened boy.

Each mirror was like the first, containing a masked creature staring at him with such glee.

"What do you want from me?!" He cried, still running away.

His bare feet was starting to ache, he could feel the cold ebony ground as he ran. And without realizing it, he had stepped onto something sharp.

His feet now bled, scratches visible on his pale skin. Looking down, Yuya saw that there were shards of broken glass from a nearby mirror. Someone must have broken it.

But who?

"H-hello?" He asked, voice soft and shaking.

"Yuya, oh please wake up, Yuya." says a voice. It sounded familiar.

It was his mother.

"Mom, I'm here!" He says, standing up in search for her.

but all he heard was crying. His mother was crying.

"Mom?!"

She was nowhere in sight.

"Mommm?!"

She just kept crying.

Her sobs got louder and louder, echoing through the darkness that surrounded this strange world. It got so loud that he had to cover his ears. It didn't sound like his mother anymore.

It sounded like...something else entirely.

Yuya didn't know what was happening. He just wanted the crying to stop and go back to his house.

Rolling down into a ball, he remained on the ground, eyes closed and ears shut tight. He rocked himself to ease this tension he was feeling. But still, the crying did not stop.

It never stopped.

* * *

The ceiling of his bedroom came to view when Yuya woke up. He lay there on his bed, eyes still half lidded, looking so tired...and confused.

 _'what happened?'_

Beside him was his mother, asleep on the bedside. She held his hand as he lay there, still looking worried as she slept.

Yuya saw the time was 1:00 am. It was very late right now.

For some reason, he felt really hot wearing his pajamas along with the comforter on top of him. He wiped sweat on his forehead and decided to get up from his position to sit.

"Yuya?" Said his mother who now awoke.

"hm...hey, mom."

"Yuya, you're awake!" She cried, hugging him happily.

"I was so worried, Yuya! You just fainted and started having nightmares. I didn't know what to do..I-I was so scared, andㅡ" she was starting to shake from crying.

"It's okay, mom. I'm fine now." He said to her, gently holding her hand.

"You were tossing and turning, Yuya. You kept calling for me...I was there right beside you but you...you kept crying out for me, for someone to help you..." She sobbed, such sadness in her words.

"shh. It's over. I'm awake now, see?" He said, trying not to make his mother worry. It was exactly this that he absolutely did not like. He hated seeing his mother in so much pain. It made him feel very sad and helpless.

But what could he do?

"Mom, just don't try to think about it. It was just a nightmare again, you don't need to worry."

"No! It's hurting you, Yuya. It always did that and it never stopped."

She hugged him again, crying as she held his head next to hers. "Oh, my poor little boy..."

* * *

By now, the Sakaki household was silent. Two souls were in there, silently in deep thought as a wave of emotion filled their hearts.

Yuya couldn't sleep, the horrors of his nightmare had struck deeply into his mind. Why was this happening to him? Why did it not stop?

These were the questions he often asked to himself. But as always, left unanswered.

When will it ever end? He always asks.

Why do they keep on showing up?

 ** _End of Chapter 4_**

* * *

 _Hey guys! So that ends this chapter. What do you think? OOC? Yes it is._

 _Okay...I wanted to post this on Halloween but I wasn't finished with it yet so...yeah...sorry about that. I was pretty stuck on things and stuff so I had a hard time writing this. Anyway! Thank you so very very much for your reviews. It really encouraged me to write. So yeah...I'm glad you think this fic is good and please bear with me here. I have no idea where I'm going 'cause this is the first time I've written an actual story. But really, thanks so much!_


	5. The Subjectivity of Fear (part I)

**_Into a Dream_ Chapter 5 : _The Subjectivity of Fear (part I)  
_**

* * *

It was early when he woke up that morning. _5:05 am_ it said on his digital clock. With a light _click,_ the sound of its alarm had turned off, and once more, everything was silent.

He was dreaming again— about Yuya.

As he laid there on his bed, Yuto faced the ceiling lighted by the early sun. Another day had begun in his stay here in Standard. Meaning, another day he would have to put up with his brothers.

But today was different from the rest.

Today he would get to meet the boy from his dreams.

He would get to meet Yuya.

They say you instantly forget your dreams, but in Yuto's case, that wasn't happening. Every waking moment, as he arise from sleep, the image of the boy would appear in his mind, smiling and laughing in front of him with that cheerful face of his. The sun shone brightly at the scene and the laughter and giggles of the boy had mixed together with the soothing waves of the ocean. It seemed like he was in paradise. Everything was at bliss here, and all his worries seemed to fade away.

 _'Why?'_ he often asked himself. Why was this happening to him? To his brothers? He barely knew this guy yet he—

... _'sigh'._

He now sat on his bedside, putting on a plain black shirt as he slowly stood up. He went in front of the mirror and used his hand to comb his lavender colored bangs in place. Letting out a yawn, he then went outside his room.

"Wake up, Yugo." Said the eldest of the triplets. He was in front of the room across his and the sound of rustling bed sheets and an unmistakable groan from his youngest sibling made him now turn towards the stairs.

It was too early to go to school so he'll let things slide. He wasn't used to their presence yet and he didn't plan to get all bossy too. For Yuto, his brothers were just a couple of guests in that apartment they were sharing. It was, after all, a couple of years since they last lived together. They all had their own apartments in their own dimensions now and each was as luxurious as the other.

However, each one was also quite lonely.

As soon as he reached the living room, he saw his other sibling on the couch— newspaper on hand and a steamy cup of tea on the other.

It was Earl Gray.

Yuri looked like he was focused on some article but what surprised Yuto the most was how his brother could be an even more early bird than him.

He soon dropped off the thought and instead exchanged quick glances to the sibling before heading off to the kitchen. The other just shrugged and continued reading whatever was printed on the front page, purple eyes now looking bored on the topic at hand.

Upon entering the kitchen, Yuto had grabbed what he needed to make his morning coffee. While Yuri drank tea, and for Yugo— milk, he preferred drinking the black liquid more than anything.

As the kettle let out its whistle, Yuto picked it up and gently poured the hot water into the waiting cream colored mug. The instant the water filled it, smoke lingered the brim of the mug, letting out the aroma of caffeine, his senses were now more lax to its intoxicating smell.

Taking out a sip of the black liquid, it took a slight moment before Yuto was content of its taste. He added a bit of sugar since he didn't really like it too bitter. And with that, he now headed back to the living room, not surprised to see Yuri gone.

Taking his seat on the leather armchair next to the matching sofa, Yuto turned on the TV. With a couple of clicks on the remote, the channel was put on the early news, revealing a not-so-interesting newscaster on the screen.

 _"And in other news, on our top story today, a fire broke out in the Maiami City Landfill that had caused the destruction of a nearby warehouse just a kilometer from the site."_

Yuto's brow arched a bit at that. So their little battle _was_ a little bit too much afterall.

 _"Authorities had only searched a small part of the two-story building destroyed by the inferno late Wednesday afternoon about 1:30 pm. Fortunately, the warehouse was abandoned and only contained_ _furniture and other wooden objects throughout the building, which helps explain how the fire quickly spread through the structure."_

At least there were no victims. They made sure of that.

Aside from the little hooded creatures of course.

 _"However, the cause of the blaze is still under investigation so authorities have yet to confirm if it was due to wildfire or an unknown arsonist. At the meantime, police would like to remind all locals to be watchful of fire. And if a fire ever occurs in your home, evacuate immediately and call the nearest fire station in your area."  
_

 _"Moving on to our next top story, city manager, Furio Sawatari, is holding a banquet this Saturday on—CLICK!_

Yuto sighed. Their mission yesterday would most likely be earning complaints from the higher-ups.

And he didn't like that.

Not one bit.

 _'I better tell Shun to cover for me.'_ Thought the raven haired. Shun _was_ his best friend afterall and most of the time, the taller man with a trench coat was the one helping him out on missions. Shun even proved to be a better companion than his brothers. He acted quite similar to him and shared the same past times as he did.

Truly, Shun was someone he could talk to, someone he could rely on. And of course it was the same for Shun since Yuto was the one who saved his sister from a certain hostage situation back in XYZ (that's what she gets for running away from home), plus some other stuff he helped Shun with.

There was a lot.

No kidding.

Snapping away from his thoughts, there was a yawn coming from the stairs and Yuto didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Get dressed, Yugo. We need to be there early." He said rather passively, his gaze still on the blank television screen.

"Yeah, I know. You don't have to remind me that, aniki." Said the sibling who was now leaning on the banister.

Yuto quirked at that. ' _Aniki?'_ He asked himself. He then turned to look at the youth and saw that he was still wearing his pajamas. Baby blue, and utterly childish. Were those monkey prints he was seeing?

"Besides, I know Yuya would be there." He smiled. "I'll finally get to meet him."

Yuto tried to hide a snort. Grabbing his now empty mug, he stood up and faced his younger sibling that was still standing there, looking all smug. "Don't get your hopes up, Yugo. We're just here to keep an eye on him. That's all."

"Says the guy who keeps stalking him."

Yuto narrowed his eyes. "What did you say?"

"Don't pretend like nothing happened yesterday." The bluenette simply stated, arms crossed as he fixed his posture. He looked at his older brother from across the living room and found light onyx eyes staring back, a glare taking form.

But it didn't bother him. He glared back.

"Don't pretend you didn't go there yesterday and just 'wandered' off the school to make sure Yuya was 'alright'."

Yuto didn't say anything. He knew his little chat with Yuya pissed Yugo off.

And like always, he didn't care.

"Yuya may not know what's happening around him, aniki, but _we_ do, and that makes him highly vulnerable. And as Yuya's sworn protector, I can't let you take advantage of that." Yugo says as he pointed his finger knowingly. Yuto just let out a frustrated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What are you talking about, Yugo?"

"You're hogging Yuya all to yourself! IT'S NOT FAIR, DAMMIT!" Cried the boy on his pajamas.

"You get to to this and that, but SERIOUSLY?! You get to introduce yourself FIRST?!" He shouts, the early moodiness taking in. Yuto rolled his eyes at that, remembering quite well the last conversation they had when he had returned from scouting duty last night.

* * *

 _"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! We agreed to meet him together."_

 _"We just talked for a bit!" He shouts back, practically throwing his hands in the air. "For crying out loud, Yugo, what's your problem?!"_

 _"My problem is that you keep wandering off somewhere to take Yuya all to yourself. It's getting on my nerves!"_

 _"Yeah? And I don't give a shit. Suck it up, Yugo."_

That was probably the last conversation they had before going to bed. Yuri, of course, did not care and bluntly went to his own room. " _You guys sound like girls."_ He said before laughing at his own joke and went off to sleep.

* * *

"You know, I've had it with all this crap you and Yuri give me. When do I get to do something _I_ want for a change, HUH?!" Said the angry sibling as he let out some steam. "But what ever. I don't care _what_ you do. I won't let you follow Yuya around any longer, not while _I'm_ here."

The sight of his brother just reminded Yuto of a frustrated child on a fit because his parents won't give him a new toy. Truly he was a bit amused of his brother's complaints so he concluded that Yugo really cares a lot for this Yuya after all.

Somehow he could feel a slight irritation taking form. In the depths of his mind, he didn't like how Yugo was reacting towards their mission, and about Yuya.

"Oh? And I don't suppose you can stop me from doing these things since—like what?— IT'S OUR JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE?" He finally said, not removing his gaze from the angry teen.

"Right, Yugo?"

Yugo stared at him, pure anger driven by burning teal eyes. "IT WAS MINE FIRST, You theif!"

There was no use shouting back to the boy so Yuto figured he'd just have to knock some sense into him instead. It's not like it was wrong for him to meet Yuya like that. They were gonna be classmates anyway.

So why didn't Yugo get that?

" _Grrrrr!_ You're always like this! You act like you're always in control about every single fucking thing!" Shouts the blunette.

"Because I _am_ in control, Yugo!" Yuto snaps, eyes darting back to his brother. He was asking for it so now, he won't be giving mercy.

"This mission is led by me and not you, and _you_ know as well as I do that you didn't stand a chance facing that monster. That mission that you practically _begged_ for was only meant for S-class Lancers which meant that you had nothing to do with _any_ of it, so _quit_ your complaining and _stop_ acting like a child."

Yuto went back to the kitchen, the mug now set aside in the sink. Yugo followed suit but only eyed him with anger.

"Cut the crap, Yugo. This jealousy you feel just because I met Yuya first is stupid. I mean, who are you to be called a Lancer Elite? Protesting about petty things about this mission." Yuto says, his back on the refrigerator. "The Masks are appearing more frequently around the city and I didn't see you getting rid of a single one." Gray eyes now locked into teal ones, tension filled the room more intensely but neither side refused to give in. "Just what were you doing yesterday, Yugo?"

The boy didn't say anything and just gave out a long sigh. He knew he was in trouble now since yesterday was pointlessly spent on fixing his precious D-wheel. He didn't even bother going out and hunt for some monsters since he was so cooped up replacing some parts of his damaged motorcycle. He had somehow hit a wall just after their pursue in the landfill and had quickly went to work on it the following days. Although he wasn't badly hurt, his D-wheel had taken quite a beating.

A distraction caused him to slip up and he found himself landing straight for an unsuspecting wall. It was embarrassing to admit but he was thinking about Yuya that time, of his own dreams about the boy.

" _Sigh..._ I fixed my bike, okay?" He finally said defeatingly, eyes looking down at the floor. "I know, I know, it was irresponsible of me. But geez, it's like you're scolding me every single fucking day like I'm some pet dog."

"No." Yuto says with a sigh. "You're my younger brother."

He walked past the blunette to once again enter the living room. "And I want you to respect me and start being more responsible next time. If you're that concerned about Yuya, start working on yourself. You're still lacking in resolve, Yugo. And I don't want you getting hurt because of it."

Yugo didn't know what to say. He felt so stupid just standing there.

He took one last glance at his brother. Yuto had his back on him, now reviving the TV once again.

But he could see it. He could see it so clearly.

He could see the proud posture of a Lancer Elite— of a leader destined for great power and more. Although he would mostly look up to him with mockery, he knew his brother was way above him, he knew just how favored his older brother was compared to him.

But it wasn't that stupid bias that caused him to feel so inferior towards his brother. Heck, even Yuri was making him feel so weak. No, it wasn't any of that.

It was that damn mission he stole from him.

Yugo knew he worked hard to get that mission. Just like Yuto he too had wanted to protect the boy form that creature. But missions that involved crossing dimensions were meant for more experienced Lancers— the S-class. Eventually, since everyone else was busy, Yugo was given the task anyway with all that persuasion involved. There was something in him that just screamed _'get Yuya to safety, you little shit'_ and all that. But unfortunately, his brother just _had_ to steal that mission from him. It could've been any mission but nooo, it was _that_ mission.

Until now, he still felt bitter about it.

He felt salty.

There was a silence around the room before the sound of a door closing was heard. The two standing on the living room just waited till the presence of the middle child appeared, revealing only a passive face that didn't care what all the commotion was about.

"You two are being quite loud this morning." Said the purple haired boy. He was now wearing a uniform and looked ready for school. Although his face didn't show much emotion, it was clear that he was unhappy with the situation. Quite pissed actually.

Purple eyes darted off to the two of them before speaking.

"Hurry up." Is all he said before going outside to water his plants.

And as if nothing had happened, Yuto went back to his room to get ready, leaving Yugo down stairs to eat his breakfast.

* * *

There were rows of carnivorous plants, cacti and all other different varieties of thorned, prickly plants on the garden outside their apartment complex. Yuri just stayed there, taking in the sight of the beautiful work he'd done to make sure every pot was weeded and watered.

Most of his mornings, here on Standard, was spent on his little sanctuary of plants. He originally had a bigger garden at his own apartment back in Fusion but now, he could settle on things with this little one until their mission was complete. It's not like they'd stay here for a year or so, right?

 _'No. Perhaps not.'_ He thought.

Yuri was starting to feel like their mission would be facing a lot of difficulties along the way. First of all, they haven't found much information regarding The Door, and second of all, they haven't made sure Yuya was okay. It seemed like their protective barrier was starting to wear off on the boy, and _that_ is not what they needed right now.

But worse of all, their enemy might be stronger than they thought.

From what they could understand, these masked creatures had a Boss— a 'King' they would call it, that they'd obey. But who or what exactly are they talking about?

His brother was probably asking the same thing. But it was too early to find out for sure. Today they had other things to do. They would have to meet Yuya today, probably engage in conversation too to find out how he was doing. He doubt Yuya was fine at the moment. In that condition he's in, surely he wasn't getting proper sleep by now.

 _'Yuya Sakaki...'_ Thought the purple haired teen. The boy was starting to get to him too.

But he wouldn't let himself fall for some dream he was having.

 _'...Yuya...'_ He thought again.

Now, he was sure he'd have to put on a fight before anything.

Letting out a smirk, the teen then went back inside, seeing the other two now ready for their first day.

"Let's go." Said the eldest of the triplets as he left through the front door. Yuri followed without a word, leaving the youngest who was still struggling to put on his school shoes.

"HEY! WAIT UP!"

It was now 6:30 a.m. and they had left their apartment. They lived close by Yuya's neighborhood so it was easier for them to monitor the teen if needed. So far last night's incident on the Sakaki household had been under close examination. Reports stated that a mask had been detected inside but it quickly disappeared after a few moments.

Today the three of them needed to get as much information from him as possible. They couldn't risk not knowing what was happening around the boy.

They needed to protect him.

The brothers set off and walked down the early streets of Maiami city, none bothering to engage in any conversation. The three of them weren't in the mood right now.

They were simply thinking to themselves about the same thing.

 _'What exactly was Yuya Sakaki like?'_

* * *

 _Bum...bum...bum...bum...bum..._

 _The air around him was suffocating. Why was the sky red and why did it felt so uninviting? He didn't know where he was or what was happening, but one thing's for sure_ —

 _He was in his nightmare again._

 _'No, no, no, no. I thought it stopped. I thought it was over.' said the boy who was none other than Yuya. He was in his pajamas, blood stained and completely torn apart. And as he stood there in the ruins of what seems to be a carnival, he just knew where this was going._

 _Soon, the masked man will come and chase him, and like always, he will get caught, get trapped even and tortured until he sees himself, dead and nothing more._

 _He didn't shout nor did he cry for help. He had known no one would come for him. He had given up a long time ago when he was still a child. It was a painful dream, yes. But soon he would awaken and embrace the mother whom had comforted him all this time._

 _Yes. He would awaken._

 _There was a gush of wind and the dead leaves danced their way by the broken tents. Round and around, they circled that one spot, gaining in height as they increased their speed. Yuya looked at the scene before him, curious to whether or not it was the coming of the mask._

 _As soon as he confirmed it, he would fight back. Perhaps now that he knew the masks could be killed, he might still have a chance to get away from all of this._

 _'I'm not afraid of you.' said the boy. He took a step closer to the spinning leaves, his face now more determined than ever. There was a steel pipe by his feet and he quickly took it to defend himself. As he did so, the leaves stopped spinning and dropped to the ground all at once._

 _There was now silence in this red realm and Yuya anticipated the Mask. The rust from the pipe now rubbed on his palms but he paid no attention to it, he only looked at what was in front of him._

 _But instead of the sinister smile of a masked man, a shadowy creature greeted his sight and now towered over him. Yuya was more confused than ever._

 _What was this thing?_

 ** _"Hello, Yuya-chan~"_** _said the voice from the shadow. The shadow sounded like it had multiple voices talking at once. It sounded old, it sounded deep, but then, it sounded like a young boy. Crimson eyes widened in shock. Yuya was surprised to hear someone or something talk in this little world of horrors. Usually only his screams of pain and the mask's maniacal laughter was all he could hear._

 _"W-who are you?" Yuya tried to say. He tried his best to show no fear._

 ** _"Hee, hee, hee, hee. Why don't you guess then? You've known me before, Yuya-chan~"_**

 _"NO! You don't exist. This_ _—THIS is just a nightmare AND I WANT YOU TO GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" The boy shouts, his grip on the pipe tightening further. Although his heart shook with fear, he was determined to end this little game once and for all._

 ** _"Oh? Then I take it you have met your knight and shining armor, boy? HA! It explains why you are so full of spirit right now. How cute."_** The creature who was surrounded by darkness, walked towards the boy. A few meters came between the two but was now merely reduced to a few feet.

"My _what_?" Replied the boy.

 _ **"Oh, you know, that little runt with the sword!"**_ says the shadow as it circled the boy. " _ **He seems to like you a lot, that bastard. But he's only a fool to ever take interest in something that's mine."**_

"I'm _no one's_ possession, you freak." He says in disgust. "I'm just a teenager who has enough problems as it is."

 _ **"And it seems like you never crease to catch my interest, Yuya. Perhaps that's just the reason why I just wanna eat you up."**_

He shook his head, not caring to answer to that as his grip tightened once more. "Look, I don't know what the hell you're talking about or what it is you want from me, but I'm gonna make this clear for you..." He took a step closer, raising both hands as high as he could. Taking a deep breath, he then look straight at the creature in front of him. "I WANT YOU TO LEAVE _ME!_ AND _MY MOM!_ _ALONE!_ " He then swung his weapon at the shadow, not expecting his attack to go through this being.

As if like a ghost, the creature did not let out any indication of pain from the 'attack'. It just remained there, turning back to the now frustrated boy. They simply switched places, one on the left, silently amused, and the other, on the right, completely bewildered. "wh-wha?" is all the boy could say before looking back and forth from the pipe to the shadow.

 _ **"As foolish as ever."**_ It said, laughing to itself. _**"You must remember, boy. There is nothing you can do to harm me in this realm. I am forever a being that will dwell within this land."**_ It walked closer to the boy, now changing its form.

 ** _"But soon, all of this will change and there is nothing you can do to escape from me."_**

Yuya saw it advance towards him as it quickly transformed. The darkness that surrounded it circled this creature. Soon a ray of blue light shone within the ebony sphere and slowly disintegrated as it gave way to a new figure.

Standing not merely a feet from him was something he could not understand nor explain.

What was standing in front of him was none other than himself.

"You..." is all the boy could say before he noticed the red sky was suddenly becoming darker and his senses were getting quite weak. He felt his eyes shutting down but before they could fully close, he heard the echoing laughter of the other person that was himself. His laughs completely sounded like his own, only it held utter madness and evil that had scared him so.

Everything now vanished within darkness and a familiar sound caught the sleeping boy's ears.

 _Beep-beep! Beep-beep! Beep-beep! Beep-beep!_ It was 6:30 am. "Uggghh..."

"YUYA DEAR! You're gonna be late!~~" Cried his mother from the kitchen in a sing-song tune. "You don't want to keep Yuzu waiting now, don't you?~"

"YEAH, YUYA! Some of us woke up _really_ early just to check if you were okay. You don't wanna keep me waiting, don't you?!" Said girl also cried from he kitchen. Honestly, it's like she practically lived there.

"I'M ON MY WAY DOWN!" The boy replies, still in bed. He rubbed off sleep from his eyes and sighed. _'It was just a dream.'_ He thought to himself as he stared blankly at the ceiling. _'You'll get over it.'_

* * *

"You don't look so great, Yuya." Said the pink haired girl. "Did something happen again? Something I should know about?" She asked, walking along with her tired companion as they went towards their school. Although Yoko had informed her of last night's incident, she wanted to know Yuya's side of the story.

Yuya let out a sigh, closing his eyes as he stopped on his tracks. Yuzu did so as well and looked back at her friend. She sighed as well.

"Nightmare man?"

"Nightmare man."

"That's too bad, Yuya. Did you even get your homework done?!"

"I was running for my life in absolute darkness and all you ask me is if I did my homework?"

Yuzu stared at him and blinked twice. She then turned her head away and scratched her head. "You can copy mine." She said, giving a sheepish smile. Yuya could only close his eyes and move ahead. Why was his friend always concerned for his grades? "No, Yuzu. I can just do it when we get there." He quickened his pace until his companion was now a few meters away. Yuzu tried her best to keep up but the crimsoned eyed teen seemed to be a lot faster

"But you might not answer everything in time and一! " She cried as she followed his pace

"Trust me Yuzu, I can do this." Said the boy who no longer paid attention to where he was walking.

"Look out, YUYA!" Cried the pink haired teen who pointed at his direction. Before Yuzu's words had made sense to him, he felt his face land on something else. Touching on what seems to feel like someone's chest, his head then found itself looking up only to see the presence of someone he least wanted to encounter with right now (other than the Masks of course.)

"Enjoying your little strall, Sakaki?"

"Oh... um, sorry for bumping into you, Sawatari-kun."

"That's Sawatari- _SAN_ to you, you clown!" Said the taller male with brown hair. The rich kid was surprisingly alone right now, without his lackeys supporting him or whatever. Yuzu had found her way next to Yuya and was now ready to fight. No jerk was going to ruin Yuya's day. E _specially_ not some snobby rich kid.

"Look, I didn't mean to do that." Said the boy, holding his bag against his chest. It was a good thing that he didn't drop it this time unlike his encounter with that Yuto boy. "Sorry that I wasn't paying attention."

"Hmmp, you should be sorry, Sakaki." Says the brunette, annoyed at his apology.

"You almost made me land on the floor. Ew, at least it would've been better than accidentally touching your disgusting hands. Seriously, it's like you're infected or something." Says the boy who then quickly wiped his hands on his uniform to clean off whatever Yuya had.

Yuya on the other hand, was getting really pissed off but decided to ignore it. "Yeah, it was nice meeting you, Shingo." He said sarcastically. He had no time for this fool so gathering his bag on his shoulder, Yuya turned towards the gate, silently letting his anger flow out.

"Way to go, asshole." Says the rather unhappy friend. She contemplated on bringing out The Fan but decided that Yuya needed her right now. She followed after her friend again but stopped and turned around so she could yell back at the bully once more. "I hope you find your brain and decide to FUCK OFF, YOU MEANIE!"

"Try me, you PINK BITCH!"

And like the speed of the wind, a slap made its way on the brunette's head, giving no time for the clueless teen to understand what just hit him rather painfully.

The scene, although quite eye catching, went unnoticed by most students. The only spectators that got to see the whole thing were none other than the two brothers stalking up on the electrical posts.

"WHOA! That's _some_ girl!" Shouts the young blunette with a grin. He had wanted to go down there himself but was stopped by his companion who was Yuri.

"Quiet, Yugo!" says the purple haired, smacking the teen on the head.

* * *

"You really didn't have to do that." Says the crimson eyed teen. He and his companion were now at the locker rooms, switching their footwear. It was disrespectful to enter a place without doing so. Afterall, cleanliness was an absolute must in Japan.

"C'mon, Yuya, that jerk deserved getting hit by my fan." Yuzu said, closing her locker. "Besides, I saw you smiling a bit after what I've done for you."

"Right, whatever." He says wanting to change the topic.

"You can thank me later, old friend." Replies the pink haired girl as she patted his back, laughing loudly. "Now!" she added with a clap. "Tell me details on yesterday's drama~"

Yuya could only let out a sigh as he looked at her with tired eyes.

"Homework first. Goodbye, Yuzu" Is all he said before leaving the girl in the early halls of the school.

"FINE! I'm going to the music room then!" The pink haired said, pouting a bit as she stormed off towards her sanctuary. He rolled his eyes at that.

He was alone now.

Great.

Walking to their classroom, Yuya quickly stopped on his tracks as soon as he remembered the state it was in yesterday. Fearing a Mask lurking about, he made a quick detour towards the bathroom to calm himself.

Once he entered the chilly restroom, he turned towards the sink to wash his face. Cold water flowed out from the sink and using his hands, Yuya cupped up some water and splashed it on his face. He was fully awake now, his early shower taking no affect on him. _'Just think about your priorities and it will all go away.'_ He thought, breathing slowly to avoid panicking.

 _'Think about the beach outing and all the fun you're gonna have with everyone.'_

 _'Just stop acting like a loner.'_

 _'Just think about the real world'_

 _'think about the future.'_

 _'Forget the past'_

 _'Forget about the nightmares'_

 _'Forget about that scary world'_

 _'Forget about that stra一_

"Yuya?" Says a familiar voice from behind.

It was that voice that snapped him out of his reverie and the boy found himself tuning towards the person.

"Yuto-kun?" He said in a broken voice.

* * *

 **next scene omitted**

* * *

"Okay, class. I'm sure you were all looking forward to this. So now, here they are." Says their homeroom teacher, Fujiwara. The girls were eagerly eyeing the door as their teacher made her way into opening it, even Yuya appeared to be anticipating their appearance, curious what all the fuss was about.

"You can come in now, boys." She says smiling as she let them in. "Please introduce yourselves to the class."

Walking quickly towards the black board, a blunette with blonde bangs made his way to reach up for some chalk to write his name. The rest of the students eyed him do so, others staring at his other companion that entered the room looking very much uninterested.

In an instant the blunette had written his name, all in messy handwriting.

四

次

元

,

ユ

ー

ゴ

"The name's Yojigen, YUGO!" He yells, smacking the board with his hand to get everyone's attention. Teal eyes searched for the only pair that mattered to him and quickly found crimson ones staring back, looking confused and a bit startled. Letting out a grin, he continued his introduction.

"I'm pretty sure the lot of you wouldn't compare with me and my brother here so better stay safe and not cross our paths." He said, looking proud as ever. He then eyed the students in the room, suspecting each one bulling his precious Yuya.

His companion could only roll his eyes at the pathetic entrance Yugo had led him to, but had walked at the center anyway and wrote down his name.

四

次

元

,

ユ

ー

リ

"Yojigen, Yuri." He said, facing the class to bow. "Dōzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

The two boys now stood next to each other for all the class to see. There were seductive eyes, hungry take in their presence and there were eyes, glaring at their charm. In almost all the time of their introduction, the female population fell victim to the twin's charm, each one swooned by their eyes.

One shone pure determination in cool colored teal, while the other shown a mystery engulfed by a bright purple haze.

"Well, it was nice getting to know you both. Everyone, I hope you get along well with the Yojigen brothers and— Oh! are we not missing a member?" Fujiwara says, expecting an answer.

The two brothers just looked at each other before answering in unison.

 _"Aniki is on his way."_

 _"Aniki is on his way."_

Is all they said before walking up to their desks which sandwiched a very uncomfortable tomato.

 **End of Chapter 5**

* * *

 _ **a/n ** Let's just end it there, guys! I'm really busy right now so I hope you are patient for the next chapters. I'll try to make things more understandable as possible since I pretty much ended this one with a cliff hanger. As you may have wondered, I also let that Yuto-Yuta interaction hanging. But I assure you, succeeding chapters will feature Yuya's memory of that encounter (or Yuto's, you'll never know). _

_Just so you'd know, I wanted to give the triplets last names so the name 'Yojigen' or should I say, 'four dimensions' probably sounded right for them (it's not that good, I know). (Thanks for the correction.)_

 _And if some of you are wondering about what I've been doing for the past months, let's just say, I still haven't gotten the chance to watch Arc V from episodes 53 and above. Really busy with so may projects. Yep, that's my excuse. So sorry for those who waited._

 _Oh and I also tried finding more counterpartshipping fics but in my disappointment, there were only a few. I hope you guys add more to it~~chao~~_

 _ps. Did you know there is now a Tagalog-dubbed Arc V here? I can say that it's not as bad as I expected it to be. (Yuto's voice is the bomb ~_~ ) okay, bye for real. Please review._


	6. The Subjectivity of Fear (part II)

**_Into a Dream_ Chapter 6 : _The Subjectivity of Fear (part II)_**

* * *

Despite the constant distractions aimed at him all throughout the 3 hours of his first classes, Yuya was fine. What he means by this is that— _No_. He is, in fact, not fine and he absolutely can't take it anymore.

There. Is. No. Way. He's. Sitting. Anywhere. Near. Those. Two. Ever. Again.

They were pure torture.

For some reason, the guy with bananas on his head kept on calling his name. And the other one with purple antennas kept looking at him funny. It was like he was being kept under surveillance, having both brothers with an intense gaze directed to him in a very dangerous manner. But he didn't want to go further into why they were doing this to him since, he figured, they just probably hated his guts.

 _'Just like everyone else in this school.'_

He pretended not to hear any of the calls or made it look like he was focusing on the discussion going on. But the guy just kept of doing it anyway. It was starting to get louder and more annoying so he had no choice but to turn to his left and address the irritating boy.

"Yes, _Yugo-kun_?" He said softly in the best way possible, giving out a fake smile.

To his surprise, the guy instantly blushed.

He raised an eyebrow at that.

"A-ah... I was! ... I j-just ... _wondering_...are you alright?" Yugo said, looking anywhere but him. Yuya didn't get what banana dude was trying to ask him but answered anyway.

"Yes. I'm doing fine."

"G-g-good to know." He stammered, unprepared for the attention he so badly wanted from the boy.

Yuya blinked his beautiful crimson colored eyes twice and stared at the boy for a moment. From the looks of it, there was a faint blush on his cheeks but Yuya was paying more attention to his eyes.

 _'huh Yuzu was right. His eyes do look like mine.'_ He thought, wondering if it was strange for such a similarity. He wondered if the other sibling next to him had the same eyes but immediately regretted turning to his right for said boy smirked at him...for ... some reason.

 _'Just pretend none of this happened, Yuya.'_ He thought to himself.

Yuya sensed that the boy was now laughing at banana dude, and also caught up on a remark to the still-blushing sibling.

 _"Ha. Nice one."_

 _"S-shut up, Yuri!"_

Deciding not to bother on that weird occurrence, he turned back towards the ongoing discussion about Murakami and how his works depicted various dreamscapes. Yuya wasn't particular on reading books so he wouldn't understand much on the topic.

But nonetheless, the discussion caught up on his interests with the mention of 'characters dreaming' and 'characters having realistic dreams'.

"If you must know, class, _Pinball_ shares many elements with Murakami's later novels. To put it simply, it describes itself as 'a novel about pinball.' But, while reading the text, it will reveal several themes of loneliness and companionship, even purposelessness, and destiny. But what brings together a Murakami book is his protagonist and their depth in thought. A typical protagonist from his many novels would often dream strange things and even wonder about certain ideas uncommon to society." Says their teacher who now got a piece of chalk and wrote down another title on the board.

 _'Kafka on the Shore'_

"Moving on to a personal favorite of mine, _Kafka on the Shore_ demonstrates Murakami's typical blend of popular culture which is explained in mundane detail but nonetheless— very interesting. What brings me to a fondness to it is the magical realism, suspense, and humor of the story. Matters such as potent sexuality is discussed too but I don't want to get in to that since it would probably cost some discomfort in the room." There were some that shifted their seats upon mentioning the term for those who understood and some that appeared clueless. With a sigh, the teacher continued.

"You see, every chapter contains a transcending realization for the reader. It is considered as a metaphysical mind-bender to some because of its excessive use of abstract reasoning. But that's just the beauty of it. Most books tackle simple-to-write scenes that offers no challenge to both the author and the reader. If we try to think like Murakami-san, what would you have thought about these ever occurring writing styles?"

A hand was instantly raised upon questioning but it was to be expected from the student.

"Yes, Hiragi?"

The girl with pink hair stood up, giving her answer to the question. "Well, if I was Murakami, taking inspiration from other literature wouldn't be so bad. I mean, everyone does it and I think it's the proper way to write a story." She said, sitting back down after answering.

"I see. Very good, Yuzu. Traditional means is always necessary, I suppose." Says the teacher who now turned to the board to write a new lecture.

She was about to write the title of the next story until someone suddenly spoke from the class.

"Hmmn, that sounds very plain if you ask me."

There was silence in the room before everyone turned to the one who stated the comment. Apparently the new student, Yojigen Yuri, had said it and seemed to have given a slight disturbance to the class. Yuzu was also taken aback from what he said to her answer and was slightly offended from it. The teacher on the other hand, stopped her writing and addressed the student, now curious on the sudden remark.

"And why is that, Yuri?"

The boy looked up from his nails which he was inspecting to respond to the question. "Well, a little deconstructing wouldn't hurt if I were to write a story." He said without effort, still in his seat and inspecting his nails once again.

"Explain."

The boy seemed to give out an expression that he didn't want to explain simply because he didn't want to. But seeing Yuya next to him who also waited for him to answer, he reluctantly stood up to elaborate. "Well, _sensei_. To expose a story's hidden assumptions, you'd need to break down a few ideas to get to know what writing's really about. Taking some inspiration is a given but to write it based on how a concept was written may get a little too boring."

"So you mean that in order to find out something's true potential, by breaking apart the norms of that idea, it would lead to subverting its apparent significance to society rather than destroying it?"

"Well, of course. The goal to deconstruct is not to destroy an idea but to twist it around instead, and wonder if anyone would be able to recognize it as the same idea. The world offers many opportunities so I see it as a waste of time to bluntly follow a rule that you could freely change."

There was slight irritation on Yuzu's part since she does not take criticism like that so lightly. The new student just threw back her idea at her with everyone watching. She was not gonna let him have the floor on this one. Not. At. All.

"I get your idea." She said, standing up to face him. "But doesn't that seem _too_ challenging for others? I mean, it's not wrong for someone to change certain aspects in writing a story but you'd have to consider the majority that haven't mastered it yet."

Yuri arched his eyebrow at that. Was this a challenge? Giving a quick smirk, he answered.

"I suppose, but it seems you're missing my point." Yuri said as he remained standing, eyeing the girl which was supposedly Yuya's friend. "You see, _Hiragi-san was it?_ The idea which I have expressed to the class is not something that must be learned of or even mastered. It's simply the period in which certain artists or other groups try and work their way backwards to take the established elements apart. Essentially, this method is part of the literary world and happens after a media has been put under some stagnation."

"But why destroy a text? Why kill it in the first place?" The pink haired girl asked in irritation.

"Well, things that are built can be broken." The other said simply. "That's what deconstruction is. It just happens naturally when something is put up. You can stop pestering me now, Hiragi-san if you ran out of questions to ask me."

With that, the room suddenly lost temperature. Everyone, sensing the trouble that was to come, kept silent, especially Yuya who began looking at his enraged friend and back to the idiot who was next to him.

" _Pestering_ _you_?!" The girl practically shouted, obviously offended by the remark.

"Okay, okay! Calm down, the both of you. I see your point, Yuri. You've explained quite enough. And Yuzu, please take your seat so we can discuss the next story." The teacher finally said, avoiding chaos to occur. She didn't want anyone getting hurt this time unlike their previous discussions.

The pink haired girl just huffed under her breath and did as she was told, a sour expression on her face. Yuri, on the other hand, sat quietly, a smug expression plastered on his face. It always felt good to win. Yuya couldn't believe what just happened while Yugo let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.

The rest of the class, however, kept quiet, none wanting to get on either side's nerve. It seems to them that there was now a new addition to the power hierarchy in the class. It was only now that someone had made a move to irritate the class representative and got away with it.

Right now, they all knew that Yojigen Yuri was not to be messed with.

* * *

The wide expanse of dull, gray clouds was all that lingered in the sky. Yuya would occasionally see some birds flying about, their wings caressing the blowing wind as they stoop across the unending sky. But other than that, there was nothing.

He sighed as he continued to stare at the formless puffs of ice crystals, thinking about his day which was not going so well for him.

With the two newbies who were constantly trying to get his attention and creeping him out, he started to worry more about his mental condition. First the nightmares, then the masks, and then weird noises, the bullies, and now two weird guys that won't let him have some personal space.

And there was that incident with Yuto in the comfort room.

 _'Yuto.'_ He thought, thinking about the boy he bumped into the other day.

He was an odd one, Yuya thought. Despite the tense and dangerous feeling he could sense in those gray eyes, whenever he remembered them, he could also feel a strange sort of tenderness that would never reveal itself so openly.

Not to anyone, he guessed.

So the teen closed his eyes, letting the cool air soothe him for a while before thinking back to the incident that morning.

 _"Yuya!" The boy shouts, catching his body which almost fell to the floor. Yuto laid him down and suddenly cupped his cheek, staring at his face intently, somewhat panicked and confused._

 _"What's the matter? Are you sick? Do you want me to take you to the nurse's office?" He shouts, sounding way too off for the other boy. Why was he so concerned with him? They've only just spoken the other day and now the boy was acting like they've known each other for so long?_

 _Like they were friends or something._

 _Which they weren't... 'right?'_

 _Yuya didn't say anything for a while, taking in how heavy he was feeling and how dizzy his head was. He did NOT want to be held like a dying sheep by a stranger right now, not with the headache he was feeling since that morning._

 _Curse Sawatari and his jerkiness, curse those two newbies for creeping him out, and curse whatever spirit there was that allowed a stranger he just met the other day to see him at such a weak and pitiful state._

 _Pathetic._

 _It really feels like_ _ _Déjà vu_ right now and suddenly, the boy remembered the scene at the park where he literally just cried his eyes out in front of a guy wearing goggles and a mask on his face who just happened to have killed what seemed to be the monster from his nightmares._

 _Okay, he did NOT want to remember that now. Not while he was being held like this, on the floor, feeling very familiar with what was happening._

 _Could it be that it's him._

 _It sure does feel like it._

 _But right now, his head was in shambles to think._

 _Yuya shook his head and put down the hand on his cheek. "It's fine, Yuto-kun. I'm okay." He said softly, not sure what else to say in their current situation. The other just took one last look at him before lowering his gaze on the floor. Yuto was still supporting his back with his arm but remained silent nonetheless.  
_

 _Yuya took in the silence and spoke first. "Y-you don't have to help me." He said, trying to lift himself up. "I can stand up now, Yuto-kun."_

 _"No. It's not that." The other replied, gripping onto his shoulders like a lifeline. "I ... I don't want to leave you like this. You don't look too well and you're temperature's gotten really high. Just let me help you outside, I won't bite." He said, trying to persuade him as much as he can._

 _but it didn't work._

 _crimson eyes were on him, looking as if he didn't just say what the other just thought he said._

 _"W-what do you mean?" Yuya asked, sounding really scared at the same time._

 _"I-I just want to help. I don't want you getting hurt, Yuya."_

 _The other blinked at that. He blinked so fast it wasn't even a millisecond._

 _Yuya took in their positions, noting how their bodies were ridiculously close to each other and how he was sure the other could hear his frantic heartbeats by now._

 _Yuto just said he wanted to stay with him, to help him get better. Yuya could feel his arms wrap up so protectively against his hot shaking body._

 _He tried to hide a laugh._

 _But he couldn't._

 _All of it looked so silly, so improbable that he decided let out a long twisted laugh that made the other question his sudden burst of laughter._

 _But no, it wasn't even close to that._

 _It was raw disbelief._

 _"Yuto, I'm fine. Alright?" He finally said, getting his composure and heading out for the door. He would have none of this._

 _As soon as he made a few steps away, his intent clear, there was a sudden grasp on his wrist, and he was spun around to face the strange boy._

 _"No, you're not." The other hasty replied, locking his gaze at the sickly, shaky boy._

 _The two of them were the only ones in the comfort room, their voices echoing in hushed tones as they spoke. Yuya didn't like this feeling, this feeling of being alone with someone he didn't know, and took a step back from the boy, his body in a weak daze._

 _It was tolerable— the dizziness, when he woke up and he didn't really feel sick despite what had happened the other night._

 _But right now, he couldn't calm down and he was shaking. Shaking so so much._

 _"Please, Yuya. Let me take you to the nurse's office. Here, lean on my shoulder."_

 _"No, really. I-I'm fine!" The other snapped, releasing Yuto's hold him. "You don't have to be nice to me, Yuto-kun!" He shouts, mad and really red. "Everyone isn't so I suggest you do the same."_

 _"Yuya, I—_ "

 _"Look, we've just met. I get that. But right now, I'm really confused, and dizzy a-and really mad! This thing—" he said, hands circling the air. "—what ever it is you're trying to do, isn't helping!" He finally said, face flushed and softly panting._

 _He tried to look a the other, eyes in a somewhat glare as he stared at those ominous gray ones. "Just... leave me alone, Yuto." He softly said, almost pleading to the other. "I can take care of myself."_

 _With that the crimson eyed boy took off and went out the restroom. He dashed along the hallway, still panting from all the stuff he said. It was true that he just wanted to be alone but he wasn't exactly sure of what he said to the other boy. 'There goes another possible friendship ruined.' he thought, nearing his classroom._

 _Yuya willed himself not to cry, clenching his chest with his right hand. For some reason, he felt scared yet hurt at the same time._

 _He didn't understand what that guy wanted from him but right now, his options were getting away from it all._

 _He wouldn't fall for that trick again._

 _Not after all those times he tried to be good, to be normal._

 _And everything just fell apart._

 _"Yuya!" There was a cry and suddenly, he heard rampant footsteps from behind.  
_

 _It was Yuto, not a few feet away from him._

 _Yuya felt blood rush from his veins as he fastened his pace, refusing to get caught by the other. He was just about to reach for the sliding door when he felt a familiar grip on his wrist and suddenly, they were both on the floor, the strange student on top of him._

 _They were both panting until the other spoke first. "Yuya..." He said, breathing hard and staring down on the boy. "y-you're... wrong." He continued, a seriousness on his speech and face._

 _He looked different._

 _Familiar._

 _Yuya was beyond confused._

 _The halls were empty as the two of them continued their staring contest, none refusing to look elsewhere._

 _"You're wrong about me." He said. "I wouldn't hurt you, I wouldn't treat you like the others... I just_ _—_

 _He stopped and neared his face to the other, eyes bright and hopeful. He cupped Yuya's cheek, feeling the heat increase as he stared down onto those crimson eyes._

 _"I just want to be your friend." He continued, seeing the shocked expression of the other as he let go of the bright red cheek.  
_

 _"You seemed really nice. I want to learn more about you some time."_

And that was all Yuya remembered of his morning, gazing now at the darkening skies.

Yuto didn't show up after that, promising him that they'll talk as he left the boy in the halls completely stunned and flushed.

His headache was gone after the encounter, and he found it pretty strange because he was sure he was gonna faint that time.

Without warning, something smacked behind his head and Yuya let out an exaggerated _'Oww!'_

"I HATE THAT GUY!" Says Yuzu, the very unhappy girl, who shoved down baby corn in her mouth.

She sat beside Yuya on the bench by the tennis court, lunch already opened. It was the green and crimson haired boy's turn to bring food for the two of them, and right now they were savoring his mother's cooking. "Good bento by the way."

"Thanks," He said, grabbing a piece of meat with his chopsticks. "And are you talking about Yur—

"Don't say his name."

"Why not?" Asked the other, looking a bit confused. Did the guy pissed her off _that_ badly?

Yuzu was about to answer when they both felt a strong, bone-chilling presence behind them. But it was a familiar bone-chilling presence that they both gotten to know of that morning.

 **"Yes. Why not, _Hiragi-san_?"** Said the person with a soft, sly voice that offered no danger, no fear whatsoever.

Speak of the devil, it was the demon himself.

" _YURI!?_ " They both shouted. Yuzu, in anger and Yuya, in question. The boy just laughed at both of their reactions and swiped a baby corn for himself.

" _HEY!_ Bother someone else, will ya?" the girl said, standing up from her seat to face the other who didn't batter a single glance towards her. He was simply looking at the cute and fascinating sight just beside him.

A little animal caught between two raging predators.

Yuya remained silent, not wanting his friend to snap at him. "I'm afraid I cannot, Hiragi-san." The other simply states, taking his seat next to the confused boy as he crossed his legs in a fashionable manner. Yuri then eyed the boy more closely as he finished chewing the stolen snack.

He turned to the other quickly, offering him a smile as he tried to look as harmless as possible. "You see, I came to apologize for my rude behavior a while ago. I have acted very boldly and offended you, so it seems. And I do hope you forgive me for that." Yuri said, now offering his smile at the girl.

Yuzu could only look up in disgust, the fake smile obvious to her eyes. "Yeah, whatever." She said, fanning her hand. "Now leave us alone."

Purple eyes then sharpened.

"How cruel of you, Hiragi-san." The boy said, looking hurt. "You didn't even introduce me to your friend here." He turned to the boy again and quickly held both hands against his.

There wasn't even time spared for the boy to react when he suddenly felt strong, delicate hands caress his.

"Hello there, I believe you were the one seated next to me?" The other said, looking intently at his now wide crimson eyes.

The boy could only offer an awkward smile in return, hands suddenly shaking from the touch. "Y-yes I am... and i-it's nice to meet you?"

Yuzu let out a sigh, not liking what the new kid was trying to do. _'Is he, what?... flirting?'_ she thought, now more disgusted by the looks the boy was giving her friend.

"Okay then." She sighed, pissed and in the verge of smacking something. "This is Sakaki Yuya, my friend. Will you leave us alone now?"

"I see." Replied Yuri, an evil smirk plastered on his face. "Well, I shall go now. It seems I am unwelcome in your little conversation, so some other time then?" He states, squeezing the other's hands before he stood up to leave.

"Oh, and _Yuya-kun_?" He suddenly says, feet at a sudden halt as he looked back towards the boy.

Yuya looked up, suddenly feeling a bit hot when the other addressed him that way. It felt alien to him, to be called so delicately by a stranger.

Just like Yuto.

"Perhaps I shall get to know more of you soon." He said, now offering him a smile that could end the world. He was smirking. Oh so evilly.

"Take care." He finally said, offering him a tender and affectionate expression.

"Y-you too, Y-yuri-kun." He quickly stated, confused over what the other just said and did. To him. To Yuzu. To anyone that might've been looking.

Giving his last smile, Yuri disappeared from the bench area, leaving the two staring at his fleeting sight.

After a minute or two, or a hundred, or a thousand, it was Yuzu who decided to break the silence and ask the most sensible question one could offer at such a strange occurrence.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS _THAT_ _ABOUT!_?"

And that, Yuya had no clue on.

* * *

"Real _smooth_ , Yuri." Said the boy with pointy yellow bangs. "Sure, _flirt_ with the guy, he won't notice."

The other just laughed at the remark and faced his brother who stood by the window. "Ha. At least I made decent conversation with the boy unlike your pitiful performance. _'Are you alright'?_ Seriously? That's all you could say to him? "

"I've got plenty more chances with being friends with him unlike _you_! You practically scared him with the way you took his hand and stuff!"

Yuri snorted at that. "Oh? And _you_ didn't?

"YOU WANNA FIGHT?! Is that what you want?!"

"Trust me, Yugo. You'd thank me if we didn't right now."

"And why's that? Scared or something?"

Yuri's eyes darkened at that, causing his sibling to fidget from where he stood. "Ha. Don't test me, Yugo. I'm sure you're aware of what I can do to you." The other did not answer and rubbed sweat from his forehead.

"W-whatever."

Yuri smirked and and took a glance at his watch. "Hmn, brother should have appeared hours ago. Did something come up?"

"Don't know. He said he wanted to go to the restroom when we came here. He disappeared after that."

Yuri looked out from the window before him, staring at the clouds that blocked the afternoon sun. "No matter." He said before turning down the hallway. "We'll have Yuya all to ourselves then."

* * *

The rooftop of the school building was relatively wet from the constant showers brought by the rain. Yuto was standing at the center of it when a dark, swirling portal took form in front of him.

What stepped out was a black boot, followed by the rest of the body which belonged to none other than his friend— Shun.

Kurosaki, Shun.

Silence surrounded the two as the portal closed. It was only them that stood on the rooftop now.

"I take it your mission is doing well?" Said the tall boy who wore a dark blue trench coat. Like Yuto, he too had sharp eyes and dark hair, appearing quite dangerous when others stopped to look.

"So far, we have the matter under control." Yuto answered, keeping his hands on his pockets as he stood in front of his friend. "It's just that..."

"What? What is it?"

"Tracing the enemy's whereabouts has been a slight hassle now. It wasn't this unpredictable when we started. We figured they're countering our magic with _— something else."  
_

"Of this 'Door' you mentioned?"

"Yes. A door."

"And how have you managed with these masks using this 'door'?"

"At the most part, they don't seem to impose a major threat on their target. Me and the two have things under serious surveillance so right now, we're blending into his environment. He doesn't suspect anything so far."

Shun was nodding his head, understanding the situation. He and Yuto then headed towards the railings to continue their conversation.

"Sakai, Yuya." The taller said, looking far off towards the city. "Tell me about him."

Yuto was slightly taken aback by the question, feeling his cheeks get hot upon remembering the boy. With a light scoff, he answered.

"He's... nice."

"That's all?"

"No... _no_. He's very lively, and energetic. A-and fun. Fun to be with all the time. When he smiles, I-I just—"

The other just sighs. "Yuto," he says "Don't tell me you messed something up again. I can tell you really like the guy but, you know, does he even act casually around you? You sound like you scared him... which I'm sure you already did."

"Dammit, Shun. Lay off, okay?"

"Look, I was sent here to relay a message. Don't get all emotional with me."

"I'm not! it's just—

"You're in love. I get it."

Yuto punches Shun in the gut. "Shut up."

"I'm just saying. Like seriously dude, you were so desperate on meeting him. It was pretty funny actually. Pathetic even."

"I couldn't trust Yugo doing the mission, alright? You _know_ how weird he gets when he sees him, right?"

"Yeah. He's batshit crazy about the guy."

"See? It was too drangerous."

"Yeah, like _you're_ not gonna end up creeping him out too. You brothers are like three alpha wolves around the guy. There's seriously something _wrong_ with you three, I'm sure of it."

"Shun..." Yuto sighs. "We've disgussed this before."

"Yeah. Right. 'The Dreams' and all that shit."

"Just... tell me the message, Shun. Please. You don't have to be specific."

Red manila folders appeared out of nowhere on top of Shun's palm. They stacked neatly just as the cloud of smoke cleared. With a heavy sigh, the taller boy handed them to Yuto whom just taken them with slight consideration.

"Those are more information about him by the way. I hope you use them well. The kid had a super depressing past, Yuto. Don't take advantage of him or anything. He's already kinda broken already."

"For the love of— _ugh!_ Shun! What do you take me for?!"

"Hey, I'm just saying. Sometimes you look like you wanna rape him or something. It creeps the hell out of me, alright. Like first, Ruri and now some dude with a pretty face—"

 _"What?!"_ Yuto shouts, disgusted. "No! _God_ no! And me and Ruri never had a thing! You _know_ I wasn't interested in her! You were there when I turned her down!

"Hey, say what you wanna say. Akaba just wanted me to tell you to lay off of the kid. He wants none of you boys crushing on him or anything."

"Wait, are you _serious_ _?!_ "

"Hell no."

Another punch landed on Shun's gut. The taller man felt agony from the hit but somehow managed to still laugh at his friend.

"Shun, are you drunk?! Why would you say that? Why would you _even_ say that?!"

"I was joking. Geez man, I we've haven't talked in ages. I missed pissing you off." He said, putting his hand on Yuto's shoulder which was then shrugged off pretty quickly. "Fine. Okay. I get it." He said as he raised both his hands in surrender. "Akaba wanted me to report to you that we know why they're after the Sakaki kid."

Yuto beamed at what his friend had just said. "Tell me." He said. "Tell me why they're after him."

Shun's face became serious all of a sudden, much to Yuto's relief since he was more used to this kind of Shun. Calm and collected.

He seriously did not know who he was talking to for the last three minuets.

A dash of wind blew past them and had sent their hair and clothes ruffling about.

"Well, for starters," the amber eyed teen said. "They're using him as a host."

Yuto's eyes darted at that. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." The other said, unsure how to relay the message properly. He rubbed his hand against the back of his head in contemplation. "We've learned that for some time now, his family had gotten mixed up with some Darkness trouble. Like legit, even his own father went missing for it, remember?"

His friend did not answer as he had put his hands on his pockets again, expecting him to continue.

"Yushou, Sakaki. Age:34. Occupation: actor/entertainer. He went missing eight years ago only to be found dead a month later in an abandoned amusement park in the outskirts of the city. His body was hanging from the ground, a wire around his neck tied to a tree. Due to lack of evidence as a murder, police filed it as suicide. Knowing fully well that he wasn't doing well in the entertainment industry."

Yuto stayed silent for a while, trailing off his sight towards the far off buildings. "What does that have to do with the enemy? Yushou's passing has nothing to do with our problems now. It's all in the past."

"He was one of the S-class, Yuto! Tell me it wasn't just coincidence that a Lancer under cover had just died over some false accusations. Everybody knew his career was doing well. Too well to actually, catching the wrong attention."

"That was before he tried withdrawing information from LDS. And if you're saying all of that was wrong, a 'misunderstanding', then why did he go missing all of a sudden?! Why did he abandon his mission?" He shouts, frustrated. "Why are they targeting his son _now_ of all times?"

Yuto stared intently onto the other's eyes, daring him to answer. Within the passing moment, Shun did not know what to say.

"That man is a traitor." He said, eyes aflame with anger and disgust. "He was willing to compromise everything we've worked so hard on for-for selfish desires."

"That bastard betrayed us." He added. "He wanted more fame, more power and what did he do?" Yuto's eyes never showed such hatred before, his friend noticed. He held a strong glare as if he scowled to the world and all it's creatures. "He fell to the darkness." Is all he said before turning back to face the horizon.

The skies were darkening further above, swallowing up the sun as it let out the scent of the coming rain. From below, Yuto could see the hurrying students, each running towards their rooms to get back to class.

Exhaling a deep breath, he then asked his friend once again.

"You say they're using him as a host. That his body will hold some kind of darkness. How are you sure he is capable of such thing? How are you sure he is the one they are looking for?"

For the first time, Shun saw dread in those cold gray eyes. It was the kind of dread that looked as if it was mixed with pain and disbelief, the kind of dread that could meant the other's misery if anything should befall on the boy.

And Shun felt the weight of his answer.

He needed the other to accept it. He was sure his friend had already figured it out before he came. But he never expected the other to believe it. To Yuto, Sakaki Yuya was a saint, never to befall darkness. And such thinking was foolish. He blamed the dreams for causing such thinking.

"It's happened before, Yuto." Shun states softly to the other, almost in a whisper.

"And they'll do it again."

Hands clenched tightly on the metal railings and Yuto stared beyond the horizon as if looking for something— drawn over the far off sight. His brows were furrowed in tiny vertical lines as his jaws tightened hard on his mouth.

Suddenly, he closed his eyes, feeling pain upon those words.

"No." Is all he said, fist so hardly clenched against metal.

Shun looked at his form. "No, what?"

Yuto looked back at him, a new wave of emotion surrounding his face.

"No. I won't let them take him."

 **End of Chapter 6**

* * *

a/n: This was super, super late. Sorry. I hope you've enjoyed it though. I'm not even sure of the plot anymore. Ugh. And Shun. Was Shun even Shun in this fic? I'm not sure anymore.

Anyway, thank you for those who review and favorite my work. I'm truly happy that you put up with... Whatever I've just written here. I'll try to be better at writing or something and add more rottenshipping scenes too since I think Yuya might also fall for Yuri now. Goodbye.


	7. His Many Suitors and a Friend

**_Into a Dream_ Chapter 7: _His Many Suitors and a Friend_**

* * *

The three days that have passed have been a hard one. Yuya can only endure so much of the constant questions aimed at him by two rather eccentric siblings.

And, of course, there was Yuto.

Yuto who, suprisingly, was the eldest sibling among the triplets.

The dark haired teen had gotten to class right after their Literature subject was over and was then prompted to take a seat behind the boy with red and green hair who looked strangely uncomfortable upon meeting his eyes. Of course he had said his introductions beforehand and apologized for his late arrival due to a head ache. It seemed the teacher acknowledged the situation and was quick to dismiss him to his seat.

Yuya could only steal a few glances at him, appearing very pale yet flushed at the same time. They were brothers. Why hadn't it been obvious before? He wondered.

Anyway, it had been three days. Three days of the _'how are you's?'_ and the _'wanna hang out's?'_

Yuya can't think of anything other than avoiding those freaks ( _'freaks?'_ he thought, assessing the word. _'Do they act like freaks? Yeah. Pretty much with how much they come too close to my face or whatever. In short, they **are** creepy.'_ ) and their weird attemps of "eliminating distance". He gets it that they want to talk and get to know him and stuff but what got him really puzzled was why _him_? Why _him_ of all people? He was nobody, a loser. He was just the son of a madman.

But no. Maybe it didn't occur to them that talking to him like they already know each other was a bad thing. It wasn't weird at all to them he supposed.

 _'It was just how people made friends.'_

 _'Bullshit.'_

Either way, there was no way they could've avoided those rumors about him. It was what they usually say to people around here.

 _'That Sakaki is a lame one. He's bound to cause you trouble.'_

He didn't deserve any attention is what they'd say, not after all the mishap his father caused so long ago. Now, it seems like the people of Maiami city had forgotten to let go of the past.

But to be quite honest, who wouldn't forget about a suicide?

Much more by a well-known celebrity?

Who've managed to make thirty people dissapear all in one act.

* * *

He didn't like where this was going.

He's in the library at the moment hiding from, well, _them._

 _'Oh god. **Please** just go somewhere else already.' _ Yuya pleaded, the sentence echoing like a mantra in his head. He'd managed to fit between two dusty old shelves a foot apart. They were threatening to collapse at any moment but he suppressed the fall with both his hands, arms and might as well his whole body. Given the heavy load he tried to be careful not to drop on the floor, Yuya was now anxiously waiting for his chance to escape. In no circumstances was he going to get caught by those freaks.

Besides all the silence in the room, he just knows they're out there again, looking for him.

 _'I bet they want to ask me to hang out or something. God, I wish Yuzu was here.'_ With that thought, a flash of blue passed one of the shelves in front of him, inches away from his face. Yuya was quick to hold his hand over his mouth to suppress a gasp as the youngest of the brothers moved on to the opposite area to look for him. Beads of sweat dropped at the sides of his face, the fear of getting caught very evident. He couldn't risk getting those sly touches or the lack of personal space once they get a hold of him. What was their problem anyway? What did they want from him?

The young Sakaki couldn't take it anymore and decided to sneak out of his hiding place. He thought about going to the music room instead while the blue haired boy was busy asking a couple of students if they've seen him in the room.

Seeing his chance, Yuya moved swiftly towards the exit, grabbing a book he brought with him to cover his face. When he was finally out, he dashed over the halls as he moved past students giving him irritated looks as they point and whispered. The boy noticed none of this and simply proceeded to the corridor towards the music room.

He only hopes that his friend was there so that at least he could have someone to talk to that clearly wasn't insane or trying to kill him.

* * *

Chopin.

He recognized it was Chopin.

Yuya was a few steps to the door when he heard the nocturne playing in the background. Yuzu often practiced this before so he pretty much knew he was hearing op 9 no 2. The sweet piano soothed him as he smiled to himself, reaching out a hand to open the door. He might rant to Yuzu about his current predicament but he's sure Yuzu wouldn't mind.

He's heard from her as well in the past (specifically that incident with Masumi winning the duel over who gets to help Marco sensei with the papers) and he didn't complain how petty the duel was, if Yuzu was fighting for something, he'd support her too as she did numerous times for him.

But upon stepping inside the room, things got different. _Way_ too different.

The room had an unfamiliar presence to it.

But it wasn't particularly bad. It just felt— odd.

Yuya tried to look for his friend in the room but as his eyes trailed off to the piano, he was surprised to see that the pianist wasn't a girl but a guy. Yuya squinted his eyes to look at the person more clearly but the opened window by the piano set gave way for the breeze to blow the curtains, covering the person who was too busy playing the piece.

The moment Yuya tried to step closer to him, the sounds he was making with the instrument fastened its pace. No longer was this person playing the soothing sounds of Chopin but was instead replaced by the intense beat of Mozart's Turkish March. Skilled hands grazed the keys as each finger tapped away with precision the nonexistent notes in his head.

The act was compelling, almost unreal like a dream as the boy trailed closer and closer until he was met with the grand piano between him and the unknown pianist. The transparent-like silk of the curtain, however, gave way for his eyes to notice pinkish-purple hair from the other, and as soon as the song came to an end, the breeze suddenly stopped, and Yuya was met with a smirking Yuri looking straight through his wide eyes.

"Hello, Yuya." He said with that smirk.

The sight looked intimidating and Yuya clearly wasn't happy to meet with a person he was avoiding so it took a few glances around the room to get him to answer. "Um...yeah, hey. Sorry if I got in the way of your practice."

A glint in those pink eyes appeared. "Oh, not at all. I _quite_ enjoy your company actually and it's rather lonely playing by yourself here."

"You don't say."

"Yes. Well, everyone craves an audience afterall."

Yuya looked at those eyes again. They held a glimmer of something else hidden in those pink pools but he refused to aknowledge that they were the same as Yuto's.

Yuto's eyes didn't look as cruel like Yuri's.

"Yeah... but maybe not everyone." He said as a reply, turning for the door this time.

"Oh? Does that put you against my statement?"

"Yeah, pretty much." He was making his way towards the door now, mind at set to look for his friend. It was probably a mistake going here all along so Yuya made sure not to pay attention to the now standing teen.

"Where are you going?"

Silence was his reply as Yuya was out in an instant.

Yuri could only let out a faint smile, shaking his head. "Didn't expect him to be _that_ scared." He muttered to himself, slightly amused but disappointed his new plaything had skittered off.

He sighs but smiles again, this time more cruel. "Guess I'll have to fix that."

And he too was off in an instant.

* * *

Walking in circles wasn't exactly what he had planned to do but Yugo was out of options. He needed to find the boy before Yuri did.

And god knows what he would do if he finds that cunning bastard with Yuya again.

"Have you seen Yuya? Sakaki, Yuya anywhere?" He asks a small group of girls by the hall.

"Who?" One of them asks bluntly, clearly unhappy with his presence.

 _Shit._ He thinks, feeling his phone vibrate under his pocket, alerting him of a message."Never mind." He says to them as he picks it up to see it was from Yuto.

 _Double shit._

Well, he's going nowhere.

 _Except for the rooftop says my oh so bossy brother, so the rooftop it is then._

 _shitshitshitshit_

* * *

He's safe.

He thinks.

 _'As safe as I can ever be.'_

Yuya lets out a sigh as he slowly slid down the wall he leaned against. This whole morning was a mess and now he couldn't find Yuzu anywhere.

 _'Great.'_

The halls were quiet in this part of the campus and he could eerily feel something crawl up from behind. Of course he paved no attention to it and instead just darts away to look out the windows in each room. At the back of his mind, he knew Yuzu wouldn't be lurking near the science labs if it weren't necessary but since he was out of options on where to look, he found himself here and strikingly alone.

"Why wouldn't you just answer your phone?" He mutters to himself as he tried, unsuccessfully, to open a locked door.

He hears a shift of movement from behind and turns, not surprised to see Yuri close by.

"Go away." He says passively, unimpressed by the sheer boldness of this triplet.

"You're not even sure I came here for you to begin with."

"With what you three do all day when I'm around, I'm _very_ sure."

"It's harmless."

"It's _annoying_." He all but spats, tired of handling any of them by now. "And could you just please leave me alone?"

"Afraid not, Yuya-kun. You see I can't let you wonder off on your own unattended. It seems to me you like attracting trouble, no offense, but it stands to reason that _I_ should be close by whenever you need help."

"It's funny, really. Everything you've just said is wrong. I can take care of myself, Yuri. I don't need your help, or anyone's, in fact. I'm fine. _Completely_ _fine._ "

"Yes, yes. If you say so, Yuya-kun." He says as he raises his hands in a small surrender. "But let me just accompany you. Simple as that." He darts next to the boy even before the other could manage a retort. "After all, I wouldn't want you feeling lonely in these desolate halls all by yourself. Let me at least make you comfortable"

Yuya manages to blink several times, his look completely tired and deprived of sleep.

But to Yuri, the pout he was wearing was simply adorable.

Yuya all but sighs as he sees there was no escape with this guy.

"Whatever." He says, walking through the halls, the ever persistent Yojigen sibling trailing by.

* * *

There are times where Yugo is met with odd occurrences.

This, however, might me an understatement because right now, he doesn't understand a damn thing.

"Waitwaitwaitwait."

"Yugo rela—

" _Wait._ Just. A. Damn moment there, _aniki_. Are you telling me you've just spotted a mask in the _campus_? How?! We've secured the area just last week. How are they even breaking in?"

"Relax, Yugo. This one's just stubborn."

"Stubborn? Oh so you're calling those things _'stubborn'_ now? That's great. In fact, why don't you call _yourself_ that 'cause _we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place if you just goddamned gave me the mission anyway!_ "

"Shut up and kill the target already. Look, I'm sorry I had to call you so suddenly. Something came up and I need to check up on that too."

"FINE! But we're not finished with this, _aniki_. You've got some explaining to do when we get home."

"Oh, believe me Yugo when I say I'm just counting on it."

"Fuck you!"

Their conversation ends when he slams the door. It's sound was the only thing reverberating over the rooftop and as much as he hoped for his older brother to flinch from it, he didn't even get as much as a blink.

 _'Stupid Yuto. Why must you always make my life a living hell?'_

He inwardly groans, remembering the smug look he got when he told him that Yuri was the one probably with Yuya right now.

 _'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Ugh, I'm such a fucking moron!'_

He was almost to the targeted area, still with thoughts about he's in a shitload right now when he felt the need to piss. Of course it took Yugo as much self control that he could muster to not be a screw-up this time, but as much as he wants to show Yuto how competent and self-reliant he is in all this, Yugo just had to go.

And so go he went.

 _'Shit.'_ He took a fast turn for the bathroom, practically holding it in when he saw the doors. _'god, how long have I been holding it it?'_

He's just a few paces, he could just feel the relief. _'It'll just be a quickie then. No big deal.'_

Until he hears a scream.

And Yugo just stops.

* * *

 _"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"_

Okay. She did not see this coming.

Not. At. All.

Nope. Just straight, all out _nope_.

Yuzu was a calm, modest girl with a very sensible mind. She knew right from wrong and acted upon herself to keep things safe and justifiable.

And very much sane.

But _this_ , in all its glory, has taken everything she believed and lived by down to a deep, dark, sinister package of _holy shit_.

 _"Somebody help! PLEASE I—_

Before she could mutter the rest of her pleas, a hand so forcefully shoved her aside so she fell on her butt to the floor and she was met with a person's back against her.

In front of them both, however, was the monster.

A very familiar monster whom a red and green haired teen had just spoken to her about.

The huge, dark creature chasing her all of the sudden _was_ _indeed_ wearing what awful white mask.

And holy, fucking shit. What'd you know.

"W-what is that thing?!"

"None of your business!" Screams back another familiar voice. "And stay _down!_ "

Wait.

She knows that voice.

"Yugo-kun?!"

"Oh and _shut up_ , Hiragi! If it didn't occur to you, I'm trying to save your life!"

"What are you—

A blade, the new kid was holding, what? A sword? Okay, she could handle that but where the hell did he get that thing? Where was he keeping it even?

All these thoughts circled through Yuzu's mind in a daze she couldn't keep up with.

"Yugo-kun. Wha—

"I said _shut up_!"

The creature was letting out a roar now. It was almost earsplitting like someone scratching the chalkboard but Yuzu suppressed the sound as she tightly covered her ears. Out of fear she sat frozen on the floor, watching as the boy in front of her sprang in to slice through the thing with his silver sword.

Yuzu didn't want to be shouted at again so she kept quiet, eyes wide as she uselessly tried to trail her classmate defeating the monster.

 _'He's quick'_. She could give him that.

Her sapphire eyes could hardly keep in track with blow after blow of his sword. And from the way it had all happened, Yuzu felt it was all just a dream. In reality, she was just lounging off in the faculty room, dreaming about their really cool Marco-sensei praising her for being a good student.

 _'Yes, all just a dream.'_

She would forget the part after the last bell rang, where she went off to find Yuya.

A creature didn't follow her into the classrooms, into the music room that morning.

It didn't chase her after she met eyes with it.

Yes. She could forget those red eyes that just burn. How its blood just flows like ink as black as the abyss.

All of it, _even this_ , is just a dream.

And nothing more.

* * *

He thinks it's the creature's blood that woke her up this time.

He kept shouting at her to get out of the way but she wouldn't even budge.

Not until it's inky blood splashed all across her face as it fell, lifeless on the ground.

 _'Well, that's a start.'_ He guesses.

Panic and complete mortification flooded her looks just after she registered the thought that a monster's blood is now all over her.

"What was that thing?! Tell me _now_!"

Okay, so she's not _completely_ in shock then. Maybe it wasn't only the creature here that was 'stubborn', Yugo figured.

"Like I said, _none of your goddamn business_. Now stay put, Imma erase your memory now."

"Waitwaitwaitwait. _Wait!_ "

Okay, so that was weird. Coming form her. So he does wait and pauses for her to breathe in and just close her eyes for a minute.

"That thing's been around Yuya." She states, control coming back to her senses. "I need you to tell me why."

He almost shout at her again when she stops him.

"Please, Yugo! You can't hide this form me. I'm his friend. I gotta know what's trying to hurt my best friend."

"Look, just stop okay? I-I've got this. It's all under control, yeah? Just don't worry abou—

"You're not listening to me!"

He says nothing this time, confusion wrapping around his face. "You don't get it do you?"

There was something along those lines that cracked but she paid no mind to it. "That thing..." she points to the the bloodied corpse evaporating now as they spoke in hushed tones, her eyes never leaving his gaze as she continued to bite in the growing tears.

"That thing is what's causing _everything_. Every, single fucking problem around my frined." Yugo swallowed at that, unaware of the pacing footsteps heading their way. He almost felt intimidated by this girl but could not, _would not_ , show it otherwise.

"And I want you to tell me _exactly_ what's going on or I'll swear..." she leans ever so slightly to him, her once glazed blue irises turning to a cold deep indigo.

"I'll swear I'll make you pay for ever causing Yuya so much pain."

Then and there. He was close from slipping but a shout was directed at them before he could say it, say everything.

* * *

"What the hell happened here?!"

He came too late. Wait, no. He noticed too late. Yugo was terrible keeping tabs by the way.

But right now, he was standing in front of them, expression clearly pissed but still holding back.

A civilian was among them, after all.

"Yuto I—

"Not now. Take care of her first." He eyed the girl suspiciously, clearly taking note how shaken up Yuya's friend was. But there was something in her that just felt _off_ all of the sudden. "We'll talk after everything's taken cared of."

He turns around but something stops him.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Yuya's friend, no. Hiragi, Yuzu caught up his arm.

Grey eyes met blue then. Well, more like he was met with a raging ember gaze that kind of stung if ever it was directed at somebody else. But since it was Yuto, he brushed it off like nothing was remotely wrong.

"So not only _one_ Yojigen is up to this but _two_. But given how Yuri is, I guess that makes _all_ of you accountable for this!"

"Hiragi-san. If you would please—

"Oh, just quit the crap, Yuto! I know something's up and there's no need for other proof. I know Yuya's not crazy so might as well just let me know _what the actual fuck is happening right now_ because it seems to me you guys are having such a terrible time handling it!"

"I believe it would be better if you'd let us handle everything here, Hiragi-san. It is strictly not of your concern and I assure you no harm will be upon Sakai, Yuya. We've been trained to handle these kinds of situations and as much as you find fault in our system, we cannot let a civilian know of our cause."

"What about Yuya, then? What? Are you guys just gonna, let him suffer all the dreams— the _nightmares_ he's having?"

Taken aback, Yuto just simply held her gaze again. There was surely something about this girl that he should at least give credit for.

After a second of that, he looked to Yugo who held the same expression _he_ was having. But to put it all simply, this conversation just took a toll on everyone and they just needed to breathe in for a bit.

"No, Hiragi-san." Yuto simply states, locking eyes with her again.

It's funny really.

She didn't know a pair could look so cold yet so warm at the same time.

"For I trust _you_ won't be the one letting us down."

A simple glace at his brother and all Yuzu could remember were those damned eyes, staring through her like they were telling her something.

That she was oh so right.

 _'Such strange eyes.'_ She thought before a blanket of darkness surrounds her as she sleeps.

 **End of Chapter 7**

* * *

a/n I'm back! Sorry for disappearing. Tbh, I was sooo sad how Arc V ended that I kinda gave up on this fic... but worry not...I'll uh...figure something out (I think).

Also, I'm not sure if this chapter was alright. I dunno anymore... I kinda don't know where I'm going hehe...

But anyway, toodles~


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